


The Perks of having Afternoon Tea

by r0binmon



Series: My Witcher stories [1]
Category: The Witcher (TV), Wiedźmin | The Witcher (Video Game), Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types, Wiedźmin | The Witcher Series - Andrzej Sapkowski
Genre: A little bit of angst, AU, Alternate Universe, Bottom Jaskier | Dandelion, Cafe AU, Daddy Geralt is also an amazing dad, Daddy Kink, Fluff, Geralt is a soft guy working in a tea house, Jaskier is sportive, M/M, Modern AU, Size Kink, Smut, Top Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, and an excentric gay, but we love it, prompt, soft
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-01
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:40:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 30,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22973413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/r0binmon/pseuds/r0binmon
Summary: Jaskier loves to be active and decides to go jogging when he finds a neat little tea house where a certain guy works, who is just his type. And Jaskier is no good in talking with guys like that. What happens if he meets the man of his dreams...?Inspired by@gotfanfiction (Twitter).Thank you!
Relationships: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia & Jaskier | Dandelion, Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion
Series: My Witcher stories [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2162730
Comments: 26
Kudos: 156





	1. Prologue

Jaskier put a second knot to his shoe laces, opened the door and left his home. It was a bit chill but the sun was warm and refreshing, making the sequins on his sneakers shine as he started jogging. Ever since he started about one month ago he had taken the same path. Up that small hill, through the park, left path at the junction and back to his home. But that day he had decided to take another way. Instead of the left path, today he took the right path. He came to a little stream, crossed the bridge and went on until he reached another junction, walked to the left and after a while he ended up seeing a tiny store, two tables and chairs in front of it. It looked somewhat playful but also old-fashioned. 

At second glance Jaskier found out what it was: a tea house. He stopped in front of it, looked through the window and saw some younger and older folks inside. Well... he could have a break, right? Just to have a look at everything, order a tea and then taking the rest of the way which wasn't far to his home anymore. He didn't even know a store like that was nearby.  
With the towel around his neck he dried his face a little, took a few deep breaths and went inside the house. He looked around and a young woman around his age greeted him. He smiled at her and watched her serving tea to a customer, before he went to a table and sat down, had a look around. As his eyes were trailing through the room he stopped at the counter... or more precisely at the person behind it. A tall man, broad shoulders, white hair, was standing there, preparing some tea. Probably an old guy, owner of this place. As he turned around Jaskier realized the man wasn't that much of an “old guy” and he just couldn't stop staring at him. He had a short trimmed beard, same white as his hair, high cheek bones, a strong chin and... before he looked any further he got up and left the little tea shop.

//Alright. Just relax.// But he couldn't. Thoughts were swirling around in his head, making it hard for him to focus. How could he focus anyway, when this guy had been standing in front of him?  
Jaskier had always known he was different from his friends. Instead of looking after girls he mostly stared at guys. He didn't mind at all, instead he enjoyed being gay to the point he really got on other people's nerves as sometimes he just tried too hard with over the top fashion, sparkles and glitter. But he enjoyed being that extravagant. And while he didn't have much friends left from being younger he had found a bunch of new ones that accepted him as the outgoing and always positive person that he was.

Besides he wasn't outgoing right now. When he found someone attractive and completely out of his league he just couldn't talk. And this guy... was exactly his type. He liked men a bit older and he enjoyed muscles, longer hair and... just everything that guy had.  
//Calm down. Just leave and... never come back. He doesn't know you, me might not even have seen you, everything is okay// And with this thought Jaskier left and went back home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are ♥


	2. Promises (not) kept

The idea of “never come back” was soon forgotten, though, when just two days later Jaskier took the same way again. //Maybe he's not there// So he could try some tea after all. And maybe a cake, waffle or cupcake. They had quite a few delicious things at the counter. Not that it was worth jogging at all, when he would have a cake in between but it also couldn't be that bad.  
When he arrived at the building he looked inside, not seeing the man around. So he opened the door and came in. He was on the way to a table when someone stepped out of the area that was apparently “staff only”. There he was again. Jaskier stopped in his movements, looking at the man who was looking at him as well.  
//Great. Good job. Can I please just disappear?// But he didn't. He was standing there like the complete fool he was, before he turned around again and nearly rushed out of the cafe.

Now, this was the most embarrassing experience ever. He hurried home and swore to himself to now really never go back there again. This time it worked out. When he went jogging the next time he took the other way. But somehow this route wasn't like before anymore. Somehow he was bored out by it. It was too... quiet, too much park and not enough tea house.  
Maybe he should try it again? The third time is a charm, people tent to say, so maybe the third time it would also work for him?

“Are you alright, Dandelion?” Jaskier turned around to his coworker. She smiled at him, but her expression was worried. “You're folding the same shirt for the fifth time now”  
“Oh, right. Sorry, Prissy” Jaskier sighed and let the shirt be. “I might have met the men of my dreams”  
“You, what?” Priscilla looked at him in surprise. “Tell me all about him!”

Priscilla was not just his coworker but also his best friend. Together they had started this shop, selling pride and unisex stuff, mostly made by themselves. Jaskier was the one putting the clothing and accessory together while Priscilla did the organizing, orders and financial things. Most of the clothes were as eccentric as Jaskier himself and he loved wearing the things he designed. Also he could show off and promote their shop this way. Especially when he went to clubs people asked him about it and he often he saw familiar faces coming and buying.

“Well...” Jaskier started and Priscilla crossed her arms.  
“Well...?”  
“Actually...”  
“Yes?”  
“...okay, I can't really tell you anything. To be honest I have no idea who he is. He works in a tea shop and I have no idea why because he just doesn't fit in there. Broad. Muscles. Strong features. Nice ass. He has this... vibe.”  
Priscilla started grinning. She knew exactly what vibe. When in clubs together she had always seen Jaskier liking that certain type of men. The one that seemed cold but would protect and care for you because they had a really soft spot.

“Don't look at me like that!”  
“I just want you to go on talking. Tell me, what did he say? Was he nice?” The blonde wanted to know.  
“I have... no idea. I didn't talk to him.”  
“What? Why? If he's the man of your dreams, why wouldn't you talk to him?”  
“Because he's completely out of my league. I mean, look at me and then there is him. I just try to get rid of the image of him in my head” Jaskier shrugged and went on folding the shirts in front of him.  
“Go there again and... try”  
“Really, Prissy. I can't. I'd love to, but... even if he liked guys I don't think he'd like something like me. He's way too... well, not like this” And with that he waved his hand at himself. He was wearing a turquoise shirt with the glittering rainbow flag on it and black jeans with holes, masked with lace. “Whatever his type might be. Not me.”  
“But nothing is wrong with having a talk, right?” Priscilla asked and came closer, took his hands into her own. “Julian Alfred Pankratz. You-”  
“No! Don't full-name me!” A deep and dramatic sigh left Jaskier's lips.

He really hated that name and besides Priscilla hardly anyone knew it. His family, yes. But since as a child he once brought home buttercups for his mom she had always called him Jaskier and his friends did so too. Or they tried other flowers and he was at the point to listen to all of them, though Dandelion was the one used most. Sometimes Priscilla also called him Dandy which was also rather cute. As long as she didn't full-named him, everything was alright.

“Alright. Dandelion. You will go to that place again, have a tea and just casually talk to that guy. Like you always do.”  
“But he saw me! Running away! Twice!” Jaskier was desperate. And embarrassed. And his friend understood. But avoiding it was no option for her.  
“Either he finds you hilarious or he thinks you're a twat. In the first case everything is alright. In the second case you just leave and never come back” With a smile she grabbed his shoulder, squeezed it softly. “Promise me you go there again”  
“Alright. I will...”

While Jaskier went out jogging regularly it took him one week to decide for the new route where the tea shop was located. When he came closer he also got slower, trying to avoid the unavoidable. Priscilla's idea was just plain stupid. He couldn't go in there. Especially when that guy was there. With a deep breath he came closer, looking through the window, although he knew it wouldn't make a difference. Last time he had also thought he wasn't there but then he just walked casually into the store and Jaskier fled like some animal in panic.

When he didn't see him in the tea shop, Jaskier still waited to make sure that he really wasn't there. Even after five minutes he couldn't see him so he decided to go in but right at the door he stopped. This made no sense. He had actually come here to meet that guy but right now he didn't seem to be there. There was no need to go inside. He came here for him, not to have a tea, though he had wanted that the last times. Disappointment grew in him and this made even less sense. Why the hell was he disappointed? He should be happily sitting down, ordering some tea and sweets instead of standing in front of the closed door being disappointed.

A deep sigh left his lips. He would try another time... But maybe he should at least find out if it was worth drinking and eating here. So he finally went inside, sat down at a table and about ten minutes later he was served a white tea with raspberry and lavender blend, together with a vanilla cream roll cake. It was bliss. The fruity taste of the tea fit perfectly together with the heavy and sweet cream of the cake.  
Now he really had to come back. Because of the tea and cake of course. No other reason. He just wanted delicious treats. That's it. And still, in his head was that mysterious man...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are ♥


	3. Try again

“And? What happened?”

Jaskier had just arrived at work, when Priscilla asked him about his experiences with the tea-house-man.

“Nothing happened”

“Huh? Why? Wait, you didn't go there, right? You promised!” Priscilla insisted but Jaskier shook his head.

“I did go. But he wasn't there. I had tea and a cake like I would have loved to the last times I went there. It was amazing. I never tasted something like that before”

“So, if he wasn't there this time and you liked the stuff there, you know you need to go there again”

Jaskier sighed deeply. She was right. He needed to go there again. Some part of him also wanted to see him again and actually talk to that man but on the other hand he felt shy and embarrassed. Especially because he ran away. Why exactly was he like that?

“You know what? I will join you!” Priscilla suggested.

Jaskier turned around from the shelf he was cleaning up. “No. Absolutely not. It's enough that I make a fool out of me! I don't need you there to watch me!”

“Don't worry, I have seen you in so many situations. It's alright”

“No chance, Prissy. I go alone!”

And so he did. Two days later he found time again to visit the store. This time he didn't go out to jog but just to go there. And he was becoming nervous. //Calm down. Maybe he isn't even there once again. You will just have tea and cake.//

Slowly he walked towards the small building and pushed the door open. Close to the window was a free seat where he sat down without looking around and took the menu. He wanted tea. And cake. No matter who was there and who wasn't.

He wouldn't care. At least that was what he told himself.

But as soon as he heard that voice the thought was forgotten.

“Here again? And this time you're not leaving? What would you like to order, sir?”

Jaskier could feel heat rising in his cheeks. “Death by embarrassment”

“Pardon?”

“I... tea.”

“I thought so. This is a tea house after all.” Although the words sounded rather amused there was no hint of amusement on the face of the man. “So?”

Jaskier looked at the menu again, his inside slightly panicking. “I take the... black hibiscus blend and a white chocolate muffin”

“Thank you, I will be right back”

Jaskier's eyes followed the man until he was standing behind the counter. A deep sigh left his lips. It was horrible. _He_ was horrible. He didn't even want to know what the other was thinking. This all was way too embarrassing. And now that he was here he didn't even know what he should do. After all he would just have a tea and his muffin, then he would pay and leave.

He ruffled his hair, trying to think how he should even start a conversation. That was what he was here for, right? But why was he even trying? He looked at the man again who was preparing his order. Yes, he was just another league. He was probably married, had kids at home and maybe even grandkids already.

//This is an absolutely disastrous// Jaskier took out his mobile from his pocket to message Priscilla. It had been her forcing him to go here again. But just as he wanted to write her, his order was served.

“Black hibiscus blend and a white chocolate muffin” The man said and placed the tea cup and kettle in front of him before also putting down the small plate with the muffin. “If you need anything else, let me know”

Jaskier took the time and looked at his hands. No ring. Okay. This could mean something or nothing at all. Slowly he looked up at the man, smiled shyly and added a short “Thank you”

Apparently he seemed like going on talking since the other waited for a moment. “Yes?”

“Er... I...” Jaskier started, having no idea what to say. “I don't need anything else. Thank you.”

“Enjoy” The white haired man nodded and turned around to leave.

With a deep breath Jaskier relaxed. Again he had made a complete fool out of himself. Great. He started eating, avoiding to look anywhere else besides his table. That would be better. The choices for tea and treat today were not as good as last time, but still he liked it. He couldn't have made a better choice anyway since there had been so much pressure. He usually really wasn't like that. When being in clubs he was outgoing and never shy but there was something about that guy making him all flustered.

Jaskier's mobile was still lying where he had put it when he was served, next to his plate on the table. He took it, now finally writing a message to Priscilla: ' _I don't know what to do. I behave like an idiot and can't really talk to him properly. Help?_ '

' _Just talk him when he finishes_ '

'…...'

' _Okay, then ask for his number_ '

' _That's even worse!_ '

' _Then... annoy him like you do with every other guy when we're out_ '

Jaskier frowned. As if that was so easy... He didn't want to scare him away but at the same time he knew he had to do _something_ in order to... whatever. But first he wanted to finish eating. Once in a while he checked his mobile, went through his social media, before putting the mobile into his pocket and getting up. He'd have to pay at the counter. Talking with that guy again. And this would be his only chance. He wouldn't come back here if he messed it up. 

  
He walked up to the counter, taking out his wallet and handing over his card. Now being closer to him he could see the slight amber shimmer in his eyes, could she even more of the strong features and since the mad had his sleeves rolled up now he could also see some scars on his arms. But he also didn't want to stare, so he looked up again.

“So...” The brown haired started without knowing what to say. “Do you come here often?”

//What the hell, Jaskier?// He blushed instantly and wished so much to just disappear.

“I work here” The man answered and handed him his card and receipt.

“Yeah, er... what I meant was... I mean...” Jaskier murmured while fondling with his wallet, putting his card back.

“Look, I have a lot to do. There are some customers waiting. My shift ends at 3 if you know by then what you wanted to say”

Jaskier blinked in confusion. “What?”

“3pm. Now, if you excuse me...” The man turned away and started preparing a tea.

“Just one thing” Jaskier interrupted again.

“Yes?”

“Your name?”

“Geralt”

“See you later, Geralt. I'm Jaskier”

And with that he left the store.

“What the fuck just happened?” Breathing heavily he stopped outside and grabbed his chest. His heart was pounding and his hands were shaking. He had no idea what to do with all of this now. Why did Geralt ask to meet him later? He could just have ignored Jaskier and went back to work. Was he just polite? He had no idea. Geralt had also looked so serious. No smile, nothing. He had no idea what he was thinking and he hated it!

But then again... that was better than nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are ♥


	4. The other side [Geralt's POV Chapter 1-3]

When Geralt thought this day way a day like everyday at work he was wrong. He went to his shift starting around noon and served drinks and cake when the door opened again. His colleague greeted the guest while he was still busy. When he turned around he caught a small glimpse of the young man standing there and he could feel his stare. But as soon as he looked at him, the other was already getting up and rushing out of the tea house. That was really weird, though maybe the other just... expected something else or wasn't happy with the prices. Who knew. Still, it was strange because something like that had never happened before.

“I think you scared him away” Geralt's colleague said jokingly, making Geralt only pulling a face.

“I didn't even do anything”

“Well, your fierce look-” She started again and Geralt gave her exactly that look.

“One might think it's hot. Others are scared to death. He obviously belongs to the second category”

A deep sigh left Geralt's lips but he just shrugged it off and went back to work. Why should he think about him anyway? He also wouldn't come back probably. But he was a potential customer and he could have made money from him. So that really was annoying.

But the thought of that man never coming back was wrong. Just two days later he appeared in the tea house again. While being busy in the back room with putting the muffins down to cool after taking them out of the oven he only heard the door. When was finished he came out of the staff area again to be surprised by the young men who obviously wanted to have a seat but froze in his movements. They both looked at each other and somehow Geralt wasn't surprised that the other ran away again. Okay, what was this about?

In confusion he shook his head. The other one seemed so confident with his sparkling, colorful clothes. You couldn't wear them if you weren't extroverted and sure of yourself, right? And still it looked like he somehow shooed him away with just a glance.

When Geralt closed the tea house that day he couldn't stop thinking about the other one. Why did he run away? Was it really because of him? He usually didn't care much about how others reacted to him but, to be honest, something like that had never happened before. On the other hand... maybe that guy was just weird. Who would go out for running looking like that, anyway? And he obviously was running. The dark blond, nearly brownish hair had been slightly wet around his forehead and soft curls had been forming in it. There was no reason for him to be sweating besides some sports.

Okay... stop. What the fuck? What did he even look at him that close? And when did he have time for that? To realize this fact and also his vivid blue eyes that were looking at him without being able to read his expression.

...This just got way stranger. With a last look at the store he locked it and went back home, trying to not to think about the stranger that somehow made him look at all the details on his face and clothes. //Get your shit together, Geralt. He won't be coming back anyway. Why do you care?//

...He didn't. But at the same time he did. He just didn't know why.

Days went by and he didn't see that guy with the cornflower colored eyes again. It wasn't until over one week later that he suddenly showed up. This time he didn't even look around. He sat down at the table closest to the window and hid behind the menu. Today he also looked differently, Geralt realized. He didn't wear sports wear. It still was quite extravagant and an eye-catcher, maybe even more than before. But somehow the ripped blue jeans made it look more toned down than the sparkling sports pants, although they had lace, ruffles and studs on them.

While the other was hiding in his menu Geralt took his chance, came closer and looked at him.

“Here again? And this time you're not leaving? What would you like to order, sir?”

“Death by embarrassment” Was the quiet answer and... was he blushing? That was... cute?

“Pardon?”

“I... tea.”

“I thought so. This is a tea house after all.” Geralt couldn't help but being pretty amused by his words. “So?” He went on and waited for an answer of the pretty shy man.

“I take the... black hibiscus blend and a white chocolate muffin”

“Thank you, I will be right back”

Geralt left the table but felt the eyes of the brunette on himself. He was still looking at him, even after he was standing behind the counter. But as soon as he slightly turned around the feeling stopped. This was... interesting.

He started preparing his order, put the cup and kettle on a small tray, joined by a small plate with the muffin on it. With everything he went back to the table, placed the things in front of the man.

“Black hibiscus blend and a white chocolate muffin. If you need anything else, let me know” There was a short moment of silence when they looked at each other again, followed by a shy “Thank you” from the stranger. Somehow he looked like he still wanted to add something so Geralt stayed.

“Yes?”

“Er... I...” So he was right. He wanted to say something but apparently he didn't even know what or was too shy to say it? He had no idea. The whole situation was just strange.

After a few moments of nothing, he finally opened his mouth again. “I don't need anything else. Thank you.”

“Enjoy” Geralt just nodded and went back to work. But he couldn't stop looking at the other every once in a while. There was something about him he liked in a certain way. Maybe it was his shyness but he also felt like he wasn't really like that? Being so flustered about basically everything – maybe even by Geralt looking at him – just didn't fit his... looks? Usually he was pretty good with analyzing people but this guy way a big secret to him.

While making some preparations and cleaning behind the counter, at first the white haired man didn't really notice the stranger who wanted to pay. But then he came closer and while he did the check he suddenly he heard this words...

“So... do you come here often?”

Geralt couldn't do anything else but look at him for a second. He saw the dark red cheeks and that got him even more intrigued. “I work here” He still answered quietly but polite and gave him back his card as well as the receipt coming with it. While he thought the other would be leaving in shame now, it wasn't quite like that. He actually... talked with him?

“Yeah, er... what I meant was... I mean...” The stranger was still busy with putting his card back and so obviously didn't really focus.

In the corner of his eye Geralt saw someone wanting to make and order, by just pointing at the empty cup. So he didn't really have time for a long talk anymore.

“Look, I have a lot to do. There are some customers waiting. My shift ends at 3 if you know by then what you wanted to say”

“What?” Was the confused answer and somehow this completely blank face of the blue eyed guy was made his expression a bit softer.

“3pm. Now, if you excuse me...” With that Geralt turned away and started preparing another cup of tea for the customer who had just ordered, when suddenly he was interrupted again.

“Just one thing”

“Yes?”

“Your name?”

“Geralt”

“See you later, Geralt. I'm Jaskier”

Jaskier... what kind of name was that? Geralt looked after him, until he had left the tea house, then focused on the order again. Would he really come back? But he had seemed all excited about that so... the chances were high and Geralt would also get to know Jaskier then. And he would see if there was more about him, than he shyness he was showing. But even that was rather... appealing. He liked that. Somehow his expression was like a lost puppy. A lost puppy waiting to be adopted and getting love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are ♥


	5. Lunchtime

Jaskier was a complete mess after that _incident_. He hadn't managed to properly speak before so how in the world should he be able later when he would meet the stranger? Where would they go anyway? Stay at the little tea house? Or leave to go somewhere else? He really wasn't sure about that. Still, a stupid grin was stuck on his face while he went back home again. After all he had some more time until he would go back.

Outside it was sunny and the glitter on his clothes was shimmering. He loved it. But at the same time... maybe it was too sparkling? It could be too much, right? When looking around everyone else looked plain and simple. He didn't like that. Not for himself at least. Others looked good in clothes like that. He had tried himself before but it just wasn't exactly what he could wear or wanted to wear. However one would like to put that.

When arriving at home Jaskier looked at the mirror for quite a while, checking his outfit and finally shaking his head. If he would change his attire, Geralt would be thinking he was desperate. Okay, maybe he was. A little bit. Or maybe a little bit more. After all he had been desperate enough to come back to that tea house over and over again. What... exactly for? Oh, right! Talking to that while-haired guy. What was Geralt thinking of him anyway? Probably that he was some kind of crazy whatever. But if so, he wouldn't have agreed, right?

A deep sigh left Jaskier's lips. No, he would go like that. They would meet, maybe have a small snack together somewhere and then he'd go back home and never see him again. Yes, that would be the best decision. And he also wouldn't go back to the tea house if today would turn out to be a complete mess.

Leaving the house later, Jaskier was more than just a bit nervous. He was tense, excited, happy and still scared that he had made a complete fool out of himself. Wouldn't be the first time but usually he just didn't care. Now he did. For whatever reason. He didn't even know himself. He just knew that he didn't want to embarrass himself even further in front of Geralt who... had not looked like he really had minded it.

Jaskier took a deep breath as he walked down the path, leading to the tea shop. He was... early. Maybe too early and Geralt still had to work. When he looked at his watch he realized he still had 15min to go. So he sat down beneath a tree nearby and waited, looking at his phone and going through some stuff there. He didn't notice the person coming closer until they stood right in front of him. The shadow was falling onto him and Jaskier looked up. Heat crawled into his cheeks.

“Geralt!” Instantly he got up and shoved his mobile into his pocket. “I thought you still had to work and-”

“I finished earlier. Where would you like to go?”  
“Er...” Here it was. That question. Jaskier had no idea what to suggest. “You... might be hungry after your shift and we could get something to eat?”

“Alright, you show me the way”

Jaskier nodded slightly, still looking at the white-haired man in front of him. While he hadn't gotten a proper look at him the last time, Jaskier could now see his eyes and the sun made them shine like amber. Some brown, some yellow and golden sparkles. Truly unique.  
Maybe it would have been the right time to say something as Geralt seemed to wait for something. Obviously Jaskier looked like he wanted to say a lot of things but nothing left his mouth. Instead he turned away and walked down the path again, Geralt following him, then walking right next to him. It would have been the right time for some small-talk but Geralt wasn't the type for that – at least so it seemed – and Jaskier just couldn't think of something to say that would not have sounded stupid.

“So...” He still tried to gain Geralt's attention. “How was your shift?”

“Like always. I served tea and sweets” Was the quiet and pragmatic answer.

“Yeah, right...” And there was silence again.

Jaskier wanted to scream. He was so frustrated about himself. Usually it was so easy. He was just talking about basically anything but now it seemed like it was completely impossible to him.

“What do you like to eat?” Another try to finally get him talking but again his answer was... plain and not much of a help.

“I'm not a picky eater” Jaskier could feel Geralt's eyes on him, so he looked up, trying to find more in his expression but there was nothing. Really, nothing at all. So he sighed a little and dug his hands in his pockets. That was until he suddenly heard Geralt's voice again.

“Why did you come and ran away?” The man asked and Jaskier felt his stomach turn. That was exactly what he didn't want to talk about. But there was no way to escape this now.

“I... couldn't decide.” He finally answered though neither of them believed said answer.

“And why did you really?” No, Jaskier couldn't get out of this. So he sighed again and shrugged his shoulders.

“I don't know. I didn't want... I mean...” Okay, this was no answer at all. Jaskier stopped and Geralt did so as well, looking at him pretty intrigued. “Well, I actually wanted to have some drink and a cupcake or whatever. But turns out you were working there. And, wow, I just can't get something useful out of my mouth. But I... I wanted to talk to you as you might be... completely my type. Oh, and yeah, I know. You probably have a wife at home and a bunch of kids who might be nearly my age” Jaskier was just over dramatic. That was the easiest way to get rid of being nervous. “And that's fine. But I wanted to try it anyway. Well, try something. Talking to you or... asking you out. Which I failed in completely”

“We're here, right?” Was Geralt's answer. “And also, I'm gay.”

Jaskier's eyes widened. He stared at the other, now grinning happily. “Oh! Well, good for me then!”

Well, that was a roller-coaster of emotions. From being frustrated, then embarrassed to just enjoying everything to the fullest right now. Geralt was gay _and_ he was going for grabbing some food with him. So there was a chance, right? A chance for... whatever. Getting to know him better. Anything would be fine. They went on walking again and now everything seemed much easier.

“And you don't have a boyfriend right now?” Jaskier dared to ask.

“Do I look like 20 to you? I'm single, if that's what you want to know”

How did Geralt manage to turn each question around into something... Something like this. This was weird. Still, Jaskier went on.

“Are you looking for a boyfriend then?” He grinned and stopped again, right in front of the taller man.  
Geralt frowned, looking at Jaskier, inspecting him from head to toe. “Well, I guess you would count as a boyfriend. How old are you exactly?”

“I can be whatever age you want me to be” Was Jaskier's cocky answer. But obviously the other didn't share his kind of humor. So he sighed. “I'm 24. So, I could easily be your son I guess and-”

“Excuse me. How old exactly do you think I am?” Geralt stopped him and frowned. His words sounded amused but his face wasn't ant so Jaskier wasn't sure at all how he should react to that.

“I- I mean... I didn't want to-... I...”

“Well, you're right anyway. Let's grab some lunch, Babyboy”

Jaskier blushed and nodded instantly. Babyboy? Did he really call him that? Okay, he was just a sucker for nicknames. And that one was adorable. His heart was racing and he couldn't stop himself from smiling stupidly.

“Jaskier, move!”

Geralt had already been walking on again and Jaskier was following now. He led the other to a sandwich store. The man didn't complain and ordered, paid for both of them before sitting down with Jaskier at a table.

“Can I ask you now as well? Why did you agree on talking to me? Or seeing me or... going here with me?”

“I really wonder.” He just said and Jaskier slightly nudged him with his foot.

“Come on, Geralt. Tell me” But he didn't get an answer. Instead the white-haired man started eating. “Geralt...” He nudged him again, this time earning a judging look.

“I just wanted to know what's behind this come and run story”

“Well, yeah, usually I'm more the type for come and stay and come again. But a tea house didn't seem like the right place to-” He fell silent when he saw the expression on Geralt's face. Was that a smile? He chuckled. That looked actually really nice on him.

From then on talking seemed a lot easier. Apparently Geralt was able to smile and he did. Not very often or so it seemed. But at least Jaskier could get something from him and he enjoyed that. Still, it was pretty one-sided. The younger one did most of the talking but he didn't mind. This way he just needed an endless amount of time to eat his sandwiches. Luckily Geralt didn't seem to mind. He could have left before but he was still here, talking a little with the other. And Jaskier was pretty happy about that.

Even after they both had finished they stayed and Jaskier told him about his shop and his designs, showed off the pants he was wearing and talked about how he had designed them. He also told him about Priscilla, who was his best friend and Geralt listened, nodded and made soft noises to let him know he had understood. But talking about himself? Obviously he didn't want to.

Jaskier tried a few times to get to know more about him, but Geralt's reactions were elusive and not really answers. In the end Jaskier only knew that Geralt had lived overseas for a while to work there and eventually came back. He also found out that he loved baking and making the cupcakes and muffins they sold at the tea shop. He just wasn't good with the decoration so his coworker did that.

It was nice to hear more about him but at the same time he still was a complete stranger while Geralt now knew the complete story of Jaskier's life. Maybe he should not have talked that much, but somehow the other made him feel quite comfortable. He was easy to talk to. With a smile Jaskier looked at him, then to his hands, which were resting on the table. He had never been the most patient person. So he reached out and softly touched Geralt's hand. It was firm and strong and didn't feel as rough as he had imagined. But even less he had imagined that Geralt would actually take his hand in his own. A slight pink flush appeared on his cheeks and Jaskier lowered his eyes.

“That's where you get all shy? You were the one holding my hand in the first place” A smirk was visible on Geralt's lips as he said those words but Jaskier didn't look up.

“Well... I didn't think... I mean-”

“It's okay, Babyboy. Look at me. No problem here”

Slowly Jaskier looked up and saw that smirk that made his heart jump. “Oh, okay. Yeah. Right.”

With great satisfaction he went on holding the man's hand, gently touching it, while looking him in the eyes.

“It's not much time until dinner, I guess...” He slowly started. It had gotten dark outside already. “Do you want to... go somewhere or do you prefer eating at home? I mean we already had lunch together, so...”

“I'd rather eat at home” Geralt answered and now pulled back his hand, so he could get up.

//Shit// Jaskier thought. He messed up. He ruined the mood. He really didn't mean to and had hoped the other would also go for dinner with him. But obviously he wasn't. Well... alright then. He got up as well, left the small restaurant with him. Outside he realized that they would have to go opposite directions to go home. So he stopped Geralt.

“Hey, would you... at least maybe give me your number?”

“What do you mean?”

“Your mobile number. You have a mobile, right?”  
“That's not what I mean” Geralt answered now apparently confused which confused Jaskier even more. “You asked me if I want to go out for dinner with you or rather take you home. I'd like to do the latter one”

“What?”

Jaskier's face completely fell. He lost control of his whole body, not being able to produce any proper words or react in a decent way. Instead he reached for Geralt's hand and pulled him in the direction the other wanted to go.

It wasn't until the corner of the street that Jaskier got doubts. He didn't even know that man. What if he was a serial killer? What if... he had some dark secret or whatever? What if he'd come out of that either hurt or... not at all?

But he felt like it was too late now to go back and also... he had that weird inexplicable trust he felt for the stranger right next to him. So he followed him all the way home not knowing what would expect him there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are ♥


	6. At home

When Geralt unlocked the door to his apartment, Jaskier felt a sudden shiver running down his spine. He really went home with him. He was now here, at the stranger's apartment and somehow he didn't even know why he had made that decision. He wasn't like this. He didn't go home to his... date? Had that even been a date? Also, he had no idea how this day would end. Would it be only a dinner? Would Geralt expect more than that?

“Relax...” The deep, but soft voice made Jaskier jump. He turned around to the taller man and swallowed hard.

“I...”

“Don't worry. We will enjoy dinner and I can call you a taxi afterwards”

Okay, that didn't sound too bad... No, actually, that sounded really good. Jaskier nodded slightly and smiled at the words.

“Yeah, sure! Okay, then... let's have dinner. What will we have? Can I help you with something? Just for the record, I am absolutely useless in kitchen. But I can still try.”

Geralt gave him a displeasing look before turning around and going to the kitchen so he could start preparing their meal.

With a wide grin on his lips Jaskier followed the white haired man and watched him doing the preparations. He was really looking forward to what he was going to make. He hardly had anyone else cooking for him, besides friends of course. But this was something new and really exciting. So he sat down on the counter and his eyes seemed to check on every single movement Geralt did.

The older man started with taking some herbs from the window sill, chopped them and put them aside. Then he took tomatoes, boiled them for a bit and while doing that he cut some onions and started preparing the meat balls. Adding a lot of pepper to the minced meat would make them spicy and flavorful. His eyes darted over to Jaskier while he formed the balls and he gave him a little smile. Seeing the softness in the man's eyes Jaskier's heart skipped a beat. He looked so... dangerous and had this nearly cold aura around him but he wasn't like that at all. He seemed so caring and gentle with everything he was doing. Jaskier was absolutely weak for that.

When the tomatoes were boiled Geralt peeled and cut them, then put the meat balls to the fry pan until they were brown and had a rich smell that made Jaskier's mouth water. He must have looked like starving as Geralt even offered him a bite.

“Thank you, I will stay strong and wait until you're done!”

So the white-haired man went on with making the dinner by starting to boil the spaghetti, then frying the onions in the meat pan, adding some tomato paste to it, as well as the boiled and cut tomatoes. He stirred it a little, added sieved tomatoes to it and added salt and pepper and a spoon full of the water the spaghetti were boiling in, so the sauce would become a bit thicker. Finally he put in the herbs and the meat balls, put the lid on the pan and now hat a moment to... what seemed like enjoying the view of Jaskier. He was sitting on the counter, excited for the dinner he would get served.

When everything was eventually done it looked and smelled wonderful! Slowly Jaskier slipped down from his spot on the counter, while Geralt was already adding spaghetti, sauce and meat balls onto the plates. He went over to the dining table, put it down and got cutlery for them.

“Have a seat. Something to drink?” He asked the young man with the flashy clothes who had already sat down.

“Yeah, I'm alright with whatever” Jaskier answered with a wide smile that made his eyes sparkle and the smile got even wider when Geralt handed him a glass of cola. “Thank you”

Finally the white-haired man also sat down. “I hope you like it. It's nothing special but-”

“It is! It is very special. You made this for us. And I will love it” Jaskier stopped him instantly and started eating. It really was a delight. “Geralt! It tastes amazing!” And he wasn't exaggerating. Maybe it was the fact that no one has ever cooked for him but Jaskier would easily claim that this was the best dinner he ever had. So when he was done with the first serve he even asked for a second and could see Geralt smiling about that. He got up, took Jaskier's plate and got him another serve, set it down in front of him. The younger man looked up to him from his seat and suddenly there was Geralt's hand on his cheek. It was just a very brief moment and it was gone again. It wasn't even enough to lean into the touch!

The white-haired man sat down again and went on eating as Jaskier sighed deeply.

“You didn't have to stop, Geralt”

“I actually did” He apologized making look the younger man startled. This was... weird. Jaskier wasn't used to that. He was more used to... well, being used. Being touched by others in any way they want and, yes, he had enjoyed it each time but it had never really been comforting. It was one night together... somewhere. Sometimes in the club, in the car outside or even at a hotel. But this... this was new. And he liked that _new_.

After their plates being completely empty Geralt offered Jaskier to sit down in the living room while he would just clean up the kitchen.

“You sure you don't want my help? You already cooked for me and I want to also do something for you”

“What if we start that with _Listening to me?_ ”

Jaskier pulled a face, but he nodded without adding anything to it and went to the living room to sit down. It didn't even take Geralt ten minutes until he joined Jaskier and sat down next to him – leaving a gap between them.

There was a weird silence or at least Jaskier found it weird. Usually there was a lot of talking, a lot of touching and a lot of whatever he had been motivated to do. But this here was different. When he looked at Geralt, though, all he could see was contentment. And this strangely also made Jaskier feel satisfied. Still, he reached for his hand, like he had done at the sandwich store and hold it gently in his own. Geralt smiled a little at the soft touch before looking at their hands that were completely different. Jaskier's was small but he had long and slim fingers while Geralt's were bigger and rougher. But the younger one liked it and so he rubbed his thumb over the back of his hand.

“Do you... often invite people home and cook for them?” Jaskier dared to ask, not being able to enjoy the silence.

“Friends come over once in a while” It felt like this was the most personal thing Geralt had said since the beginning of their _date_. And yet, it was not personal at all. And it was not the information Jaskier wanted.

“Yeah, sure. I mean but... besides friends.”  
“Like you, Babyboy?” Jaskier blushed when he heard that pet name again.

“Yeah, no... maybe... yeah.”

“Not really”

Jaskier looked up again, his cheeks still pink and his lips pulled into a smile. Knowing that was really nice. So he was either lying to him or he was... well, different than others obviously. Or he wanted to make him feel special and would lock him up in some cage in the basement afterwards as he still could be some psychopath. And this was why it had been so stupid to even come here. Jaskier couldn't know how would the outcome of all of that be. This exactly was why he usually met people in the public instead of going to their home but with Geralt it just felt right. Also, until now he had been so gentle with him. He couldn't be a bad person, right?

“Would it be okay if I come here again any time soon?” Okay, that was not the right way. Even if he would come safe out of this situation, how big were the chances he would again next time? But Jaskier made his brain's worries shut up and looked at Geralt to hear his answer. Instead of saying something, though, Geralt just nodded and pressed his hand a little.

“Great! I will message you then. I just need your number and then...”

“You don't call me in the middle of the night”

“Who told you I would do such thing.”

“Your face.”

“Don't be rude. Now, please?” Jaskier pulled out his mobile, let go of Geralt's hand and gave it to him so he could type in his number. Afterwards Jaskier called him and widened his eyes when he saw the name Geralt was adding to the number. _Babyboy_. A shiver ran down his spine. He really was serious about that.

Again Jaskier took Geralt's hand in his own, gently touching his fingers and moving his fingertips, before moving slightly upwards to his wrist which was covered by his black shirt. He had never been a big fan of plain black clothing but Geralt looked great in it. His pale skin was such a contrast do the dark color. Slowly his eyes moved to his face and noticed that the white-haired man was looking at him with amber eyes. Everything about this man was so beautiful. How could he not have a boyfriend, partner, husband or whatever? And yet Jaskier was here. If Geralt was honest this wasn't happening too often, having someone over. And – on top of that – Jaskier was allowed to come over again.

There just was something about Geralt that made him feel all comfortable. Even if it was just holding hands and sitting together. But while that felt great and all, Jaskier still had no idea who the other even was. There were no photos, nothing really personal around. Nothing besides one photo on a bookshelf. Slowly he got up, let go of Geralt's hand and walked over to the bookshelf.  
“Who's this? She's pretty!” He asked and turned around to Geralt, holding up the picture. It showed him – a little younger but already white-haired – with a young woman with light blond hair and beautiful green eyes.

“That's my daughter. Adopted.” He added as he could obviously see the look on Jaskier's face.

“What's her name? Where is she?”  
“Ciri. She's at college now”  
Jaskier nodded and looked at the photo again, wanted to put it away, when suddenly he saw again the scars on Geralt's arm that was wrapped around Ciri. His sleeves where rolled up and showed his bare arms. There they were. Scars. He had seen them before - a small glimpse of it at least. And there were not just one or two. He frowned, then put away the photo and came back to the sofa.

“If you... don't like talking about you, what about her? Tell me of her? What does she like? What did you do with her? What places did you go to?” Jaskier wanted to know, because that way he'd also find out about Geralt – at least that was, what he hoped. And while Geralt still wasn't very talkative, at least there was something he got from his stories about Ciri.

They had made trips to the see or to the mountains quite often. She had a thing for nature and for the ocean. Geralt had read her good night stories, when she had been with him. Jaskier even found out that Geralt and her father had been working together and she had been at his place quite often even before the adoption. Her actual parents had been divorced and so she had lived with her father until she came to live with the white-haired man. When being at the sea he had also taught her swimming and one day she had been swimming too far from the coast so Geralt had to go after her.  
  


While listening to Geralt Jaskier found out that he was really good in telling stories. It was strange because everything was pretty objectively and yet there were so many details.  
“If your want to, we could also go to the sea one day?” Jaskier suggested but Geralt slightly shook his head.  
“I'm not going there anymore. You see, I'm pretty pale and I'm scared of sunburns”

Hearing this answer Jaskier really couldn't tell if he was serious or not. It sounded so weird and he really couldn't imagine Geralt looking any different from what he looked now. He must have always been that pale, right? But he had still gone to the sea with Ciri...

Maybe it was better to not ask about this any further. It seemed like Geralt didn't want to talk about it. And sometimes he had enough decency to respect that.

Rather than talking more about Geralt and Ciri Jaskier started to talk about himself again. This was much easier and it also looked like Geralt could relax more. So Jaskier told him about how much he had started to enjoy going to museums as he got a lot of inspiration from there.

“Especially galleries. I'm not into modern art or art in general but sometimes it makes me creative and I come up with new things for the store” He explained, going on about his favorite museum and how he wanted to see museums all over the world.  
While talking about all of that he didn't even realize how late it had become. But when he looked at the clock it was quite a surprise to see that 10pm already had gone by.

“I'm so sorry. I'm sitting here talking and talking while you're probably tired from the day and you even cooked and now you have to listen to me going on about boring stuff and-”

“I enjoyed it” Geralt just answered to the apology and gave him a little smile. “I would have send you home long ago if it was any bother. Now, let me just call you a taxi.” He took his mobile ordered it to his place and looked at Jaskier again. “It'll be here soon.”

“Thank you, really. I mean, I also just could have walked or take the subway or...”  
“I want to make sure you come home safe”

This was also new. Someone caring if he would come home safe? Never had that before. With friends of course. But someone he was interested in _that_ way? First time. He gave him a grateful smile but as Geralt got the message of the taxi being here, he got up. The older man followed led him to the door.

“Thank you for the nice evening”

“Thank _you_ ” Geralt answered, obviously not really sure if Jaskier would expect something. He could see it on his face, the hesitation. So Jaskier made the first step, wrapped his Arms around Geralt and hugged him gently.

“Good night, Geralt” He smiled at him, then pressing a kiss to his cheek before letting go and making a step back.

“Good night, Babyboy” Geralt answered and let Jaskier go.

The young man went outside, going down the stairs to the taxi to go home. When he wanted to pay the man told him it was paid by app and so he left the car in confusion but also happier than ever. Geralt was perfect. He hardly knew him but he was sure, no matter what else he would find out of him, he'd love it.  
  


Jaskier went back into his flat, still thinking about the evening and how much he'd enjoyed it. The food had been amazing and just being there with him already so fulfilling. He was sure Priscilla would want to know everything as soon as they'd see each other at work again. So he already teased her with a message before going to bed.

_'See you tomorrow. The date was amazing. HE is.'_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are ♥


	7. Cupcakes

“So tell me, how was it?” Priscilla was way too excited about how the date had been.

“Well, it was nice” Jaskier just answered and she frowned.

“What did you do? Did you kiss? Did you fu-”

“Prissy!” A slight blush appeared on Jaskier's cheeks. “Nothing like that happened. We had... lunch together. Then he invited me for dinner and... we talked a lot and that's it.”

Priscilla didn't seem to be satisfied with that. She had hoped for more as usually Jaskier was trying to get everything out of a story. But this time he was weirdly quiet about the date.

“Dandy, come on....”

“Alright. Lunch was great and I mostly talked but I found out he's gay and... he has an adoptive daughter. I found out later, but anyway. So we sat there and talked and it got later and I thought he wanted to go home – alone. He didn't. He invited me and cooked for me. And it was so delicious. He doesn't look like someone who's good in cooking but then again, how does someone look like is?” He shrugged and chuckled about his words. “So we went to his place and had dinner and... he's not very talkative. Actually, he probably wouldn't have talked at all, if I hadn't asked him stuff. That's also how I found out about his daughter. There was that one photo. The only personal thing I saw in his home. She's really pretty.” He then added. While talking about what had happened the day before he realized that there really wasn't much. Nothing really happened. They had just enjoyed dinner and... that's it.

“I got his number and he saved mine with the name Babyboy which is pretty cute” Jaskier ended eventually and Priscilla nodded.

“That is really cute, yes.” She said and smiled. “Will you meet again? You exchanged numbers, so I guess you are both up to it? Did you already write him? Did he write you?”

“Not yet... but yeah, I want to see him again and... I think he might also want to see me again? At least I hope so. He wouldn't have agreed to give me his number if it was a problem, right?”

“I guess so” The young woman nodded and pulled Jaskier into a hug. “I'm really happy for you. I haven't seen you like that for a while”

During the day at work Jaskier was really motivated. He enjoyed being there, having good talks with Priscilla and he also prepared some things in the back room to sell. He made some sketches, did some sewing as it was a quiet day.

Every once in a while he had a look at his phone hoping that there would be a message from Geralt. But considering the fact that he didn't talk much the chances weren't high that he would message him. Maybe he should be the one to make the first step. So he took his mobile and typed something in to send it to Geralt.

' _Hey_ '

Should he add something? Ask something? Or was that enough? He also didn't want to bother Geralt, though he usually was all for bothering. When Geralt hadn't answered in the next five minutes Jaskier sent another message.

' _How are you? Are you at work?_ '

Another five minutes went by.

' _Okay, I guess you're at work then. I'm too. Working on something new for the store._ '

Jaskier looked at the messages he had sent and waited again. He neither got an answer nor were the messages read.

' _I hope you'll have a good day. I will come to the tea house again at some point. I loved the cupcakes_ '

He sighed deeply, waited another five minutes and sent yet another message.

' _I will leave you alone now. Sorry._ '

Without having another look at it Jaskier put his mobile away and went on working on the shirt. When he was done he put it up in the store and let Priscilla have a look at it.

“Looks good. I like it.” She said with a thoughtful look on her face that made Jaskier laugh but he was serious again, soon.

“He didn't message me.”

“Did you?”

“Yeah, maybe I was too persistent.”

“Did he read your messages”

“Well, no.”

Priscilla arched a brow and shook her head. “And why do you think you could have scared him off by being to persistent if he didn't even read them yet?”

“I don't know, maybe I'm-”

“Okay, listen to me. I have no idea who you are and what you've done with Dandy but this is not like him. He wouldn't stand here and pity himself but leave and go to the place he's working at just to ask him why he didn't answer”

Jaskier frowned but knew she was right. He just wasn't sure if that was the right thing to do because that was what he was talking about. He didn't want to scare him off, because Geralt really had touched something inside of him.

“Dandy, talk to me” Priscilla demanded when Jaskier hardly showed any reaction.

“Sorry, I... yeah, you're probably right. Can you close the store alone? I will head over to the tea house and-”

That moment his phone suddenly rang. Jaskier took it out of his pocket and looked at it.

“It's him.” He showed Priscilla the answer.

' _When are you free?_ '

“What should I do now?” The young man asked, now slightly panicking.

“Wow, he really did something with you...” Priscilla laughed and pushed Jaskier in the direction to the staff room again. “Answer him. Tell him you're free whenever”

Jaskier sat down, still staring at his mobile, then started to smile and nodded.

' _2h. I can leave earlier though. Not a lot to do today._ '

This time Geralt read his message instantly.

' _No need. Send me the address. I will bring you some cupcakes_ '

Geralt wanted to come _here_? _Here_? To this store that just screamed gay rainbow sparkle unicorns? No. No, he most certainly didn't want to.

' _That's really nice of you. But I don't know if this place is okay for you. I can have cupcakes another day_ '

' _Alright_ '

Alright? That's it? Jaskier pressed his lips together, not sure how to react. Was he angry? He started typing but gave up again. Everything sounded stupid. A deep sigh left his lips. But he shrugged the weird feeling off and went back to the sale room.

“So?” Priscilla asked.

“He wanted to bring cupcakes over”

“Oh, wow! I can't wait to-”

“I told him not to come” Jaskier concluded and his friend stared at him.

“You _what_?”

“I mean, this place is-”

“What you created. What you started. This is you, Dandy. And if you don't make him come here to bring the cupcakes I will slap you. Really hard”

“Oh, yes please!” Jaskier grinned slightly and wiggled his hip.

“Dandy. Now”

“Okay, okay... I will ask him to come. As if that doesn't look stupid.”

But he took his phone again, hesitating, then starting to write.

' _I might be interested in some cupcakes after all_ '

He added the address and waited. Geralt read it but there was no answer. Okay, he really must be angry. No surprise, though. A deep sigh left his lips and he looked at the woman.

“Seems like I messed up”

“Huh? Why?”

“He didn't answer... Maybe I will call him later and ask him if he's angry and-”

“Why not now?”

Right. Why not? He could call him. But did he even want to talk? Well, if he hung up he would know. So Jaskier went to the staff room yet another time and tried calling Geralt. After a few moments the older answered.

“I'm on my way. Sorry, it will take a while”

Jaskier blinked obviously really confused.

“Okay, yeah, no. No problem.”

“Why did you call?”

“I just” Jaskier didn't know what so say. “I thought you might be angry since you didn't answer”

“I'm not”

Why was Geralt like that? Couldn't he just...

“Are you sure?” Jaskier insisted.

“I am. I'll bring you the cupcakes.”

“Okay... I'm looking forward to that.”

Geralt wasn't angry. He was just... quiet? Strange in some points? Jaskier wasn't even sure. But either way, he would come here and... it would be weird but he was able to see him again. That would make everything better.

Priscilla took a look into the room, apparently hoping to be able to listen to some drama, but that wasn't the case. Jaskier had already finished the call.

“Is he coming?”

“Yeah, also, he wasn't angry. I just thought he might be because I changed my mind like that and tried to find weird excuses.”

“They are really weird. Because it makes no sense you don't want him to come here. You bragged about your shop in front of everyone and now...”

“He's different. I feel different. That is why” Jaskier tried to explain but horribly failed.

A soft and gentle smile appeared on Priscilla's lips. “You're serious about him, right?”

“I am. I want him to... like me?”

“I'm sure he will. Just be yourself”

That was the hardest part... well, it wasn't but it was hard to then be likable by Geralt, right? He wasn't into... this, was he? He was flashy and sparkling and- Actually Geralt had already seen him like this. He had seen his excentric clothes, the glitter, the rainbows. Still, he wasn't quite sure about it. This is why he got more nervous with every minute passing by, until finally the bell above the door rang as someone opened the door. Geralt.

Jaskier smiled widely when he saw the white-haired man, while his friend stayed in the back, watching the scene and scanning the man with her eyes.

“Here are the cupcakes” Geralt said with a quiet voice, handed the box to the brunette and gave him a little smile, before turning around again.

“Thank you. What- wait!” He wanted to leave again? But the words made him stop and Jaskier took a few steps to stand in front of him now. “I thought you might stay... a bit?”

“You're working, right? I don't want to disturb you.”

“You don't disturb me. As you can see the store is empty. Now, let me introduce you to Priscilla. She's working here with me. And she's my best friend”

Jaskier led him to the counter behind which Priscilla pretended to tidy up a bit. When the two came closer she smiled at them.

“Hey, I'm Priscilla. Or Prissy”

“Geralt.”

“Nice to meet you. Dandy already told me about-”

“Dandy?” Slightly amused Geralt turned his head to the smaller one.

“Yeah, well... one of my many names. You can pick any flower you want and try to make it sound even more ridiculous. Believe me. You won't find any stupid name I didn't have before.” Jaskier explained without really explaining anything. Still, Geralt smiled and now followed the other to the staff room, where Jaskier put down the box with the cupcakes.

“Thank you, I mean... really. You didn't have to come...”

“You said you would love to eat them again”

“Yeah, I did but also I... just wanted to have a reason to come to the tea house” The brunette shrugged and smiled shyly.

“You can come any time you want, even without reason. It's a tea house”

A frustrated groan left Jaskier's lips. “I want to see you. And I just can't say it. Because I don't know how you think about me... us and I feel pretty stupid about it. And you just don't... tell me. I'm... I feel like... I-”

He had to stop as Geralt came closer and put a hand on his cheek. “Don't worry that much, Babyboy. If there was something I wouldn't want or didn't like I would have told you. I'm here because I wanted to see you as well.”

“But the cupcakes-”

“I know they will make you happy and I wanted to see that smile on your face. The same you showed when having it at the tea house or during dinner yesterday”

Jaskier blushed when hearing that but couldn't really say anything. These words made a lot with him.

“And now that we cleared that up, why don't you show me around?”

Whether he was interested or not, Geralt was good in showing it at least. He listened to Jaskier telling him about everything and how he came up with certain ideas. But more than that he looked at his _Babyboy_ telling everything with sparkling eyes, nodded every now and then.

When he was done he smiled politely and thanked him for showing him everything.

“It was nice to see where you are working but I don't want to take any more of your time”

“You don't! I enjoyed this and... if you're free, I mean-” Jaskier tried, looking up at the man with his blue eyes.  
“You're still not off work, right?”

“You can leave if you want to, Dandy” Priscilla just said. “Have a nice evening together. I'm okay with closing alone”

Priscilla really was the best. Jaskier got his things and also half of the cupcakes, then joined Geralt who was leaving with him, after telling the blonde goodbye. She waved and smiled at them as they left and outside Jaskier looked at the man next to him.

“Dinner?” He asked, not sure if it was too much. They already had dinner together the day before, right?

“What do you want to eat?” Geralt wanted to know without giving an answer.

“Well... whatever is fine with you”

“I can cook or we can go and get pizza.” The white-haired man suggested and it wasn't really a surprise that Jaskier agreed on going home with him again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are ♥


	8. The most comfortable

Being at Geralt's place once again got Jaskier all excited and still there was this calmness growing in him. He liked his apartment. It looked comfortable and the woody smell from the – probably pretty old – dark wooden furniture was everywhere.

While Jaskier was looking around in the living room and checked the few books in the shelf Geralt went straight to the kitchen to prepare dinner. There were some books about cooking and baking, a bit of geography, some crime novels and a book about photography. Nothing he really was interested in. He checked another shelf with a few DVDs. Between some historical movies there also were a few Disney DVDs. With a look to the photo of Geralt and his adoptive daughter he nodded to himself. Those were probably Ciri's... unless the white-haired man really was a softy. That would be pretty adorable, though he wasn't the type of man you'd ever call adorable.

Even though usually books and DVDs gave away interests, it wasn't the case here. Geralt didn't seem to be interested in any specific topic. There was a bit of this and that but nothing Jaskier would see as a hobby or whatever – besides baking maybe? The man had told him he made the sweets at the tea house. So that was probably the only thing he liked? He shrugged with a deep sigh and went to the kitchen, where Geralt was preparing their food.

“Can I help you with anything?” Jaskier asked.

“Just sit down like the good boy you are”

Jaskier shivered. Those words had a really strange impact on him but he nodded and sat down on the counter, watching Geralt cooking.

“What are you making?”

“Chicken in green curry sauce. Is that alright with you?”

“Sure!”

That sounded delicious. And so was the smell that soon was coming from the pot on the stove. The younger one smiled widely and slipped down from the counter again to come closer.

“You want to try?” Geralt asked, making Jaskier nod slightly. So he took a spoon full of the sauce and held it to Jaskier's lips. “Careful. It's hot”

The smaller nodded slightly and blew on it to get it a bit colder, before tasting the sauce.

“Oh! That's really good! I can't wait to eat more of it!” His vivid blue eyes were sparkling and Geralt smiled at that expression, gently touched his cheek. A slight blush appeared on Jaskier's cheek and he leaned into the touch. That felt great. His hand felt perfect and had just the right size to fit his cheek.

But the small touch soon was over when Geralt pulled back his hand, murmuring an apology, that was more confusing than anything else. Why did he apologize? He had actually enjoyed the gentle touch but somehow the older man didn't, though he was the one who started it.

“You don't need to be sorry for that”

“I shouldn't just be touching you whenever it pleases me.”

“Right. You should touch me when it pleases _me_ and it does now.” Sometimes Jaskier really didn't think before talking. But Geralt just left out a soft chuckle.  
“If you say so, Babyboy” Still, he didn't touch him again, keeping that slight distance to Jaskier, who absolutely didn't like that.

At the same time though, he understood. They just had their second... date or whatever this was and while Jaskier usually was very touchy and flirty this was different. _Geralt_ was different. He wasn't just after the younger one's body – or at least Jaskier hoped so. There was... more. This whole issue of spending time together, even if both of the men were quiet. This was not like the usual.

Geralt went back concentrating on making their dinner. During that time Jaskier sat on the counter again, watching the white-haired man and smiled softly at him. His eyes were wandering from his head down to his feet and up again, enjoying every second. He really had a nice body but it was more important to get to know more of him. He seemed so... mysterious in many ways and it was confusing.

“I had a look at your DVDs... Are those yours or...?” Jaskier tried to talk to him again, tried to find out more about him.

“Some of them”

“Which ones?”

“The ones without the princesses” Geralt explained.

“The other ones are Ciri's then? Did you watch them together?”

A short nod answered that question and there was silence again. Jaskier sighed slightly trying to find something else to talk about so he started with movies he liked.

“I actually like princess stories. They inspire me in some way. Everything is so colorful and exciting.”

Geralt didn't judge. There was a soft smile when looking at Jaskier, before he stirred in the pot again. “Do you have a favorite princess?”

Jaskier was surprised about that question and needed a moment to think about. “While Tangled is my favorite movie I think Snow White might be my favorite princess. She's pretty and adorable and-”

“Fourteen.”

“Geralt, don't ruin it for me!” Jaskier pulled a face at him. He wanted to go on enjoying that movie without thinking about how she was only a child. “Anyway... I also love Lion King. Guess who's my favorite character!”

“The meerkat?”

“Now you're just making fun of me.” Jaskier crossed his arms in front of his chest. “No, it's not Timon. It's Mufasa.”

Geralt slightly turned around, looked at Jaskier for some seconds, smirked and added the peas to the curry without saying a word. But his look at him seemed to have been enough. Jaskier felt heat spreading in his cheeks. He really made a fool out of himself sometimes.

Eventually dinner was ready. Geralt put rice and the curry in two bowls and placed them on the table where the younger man sat down.

“I'm so looking forward to trying that!” He exclaimed and took his spoon even before Geralt hat actually sat down, though he was polite enough to wait another few seconds until they also both had drinks.

Then, finally, Jaskier was allowed to start. He dug in and licked his lips.

“Wow, this is so good!”

“I'm glad you like it. I wasn't sure...”

“I like everything. Especially when you made it.” Okay, he only had dinner with him for the second time now. He was sure, though, that he would basically enjoy every meal that Geralt had cooked for him. Maybe he was too obsessed with that but being here with him was just so nice and comfortable and obviously something he hadn't experienced before.

Geralt looked at him with a soft smile and shook his head. He was probably thinking that Jaskier was just too weird. But as long as he wanted him here... that was okay, right?

They ate pretty quiet, as Geralt usually didn't say much and Jaskier was too much into eating, even getting a second serving. Usually he didn't eat that much in one go but dinner with this man was different. Homemade food always was delight.

After dinner they cleared the table and went to the living room together where Jaskier sat down much closer to Geralt than the day before. Even though it was very comfortable he suddenly still got up again, not even sitting there for a minute.

“What's wrong?” Geralt wanted to know.

“The cupcakes!” Jaskier got the box he had taken with him and sat down with it again.

He grabbed into the box, took one of the small cupcakes and took a bite, licked his lips, before holding the other half to the lips of the man next to him.

“I brought them for you”

“I know. But I can't enjoy them if you're not eating with me” Jaskier insisted, still holding that cupcake up. “Please?”

Geralt grunted but gave in, let Jaskier feed him. A slight blush appeared on the young man's cheeks and he smiled.

Just as he wanted to take the second one Geralt stopped him, now taking another one of the cupcakes and held it to Jaskier's lips. With a wide smile Jaskier ate it and when he took the second bite, his lips also brushed Geralt's fingers. A shiver ran down his spine, although it was only such a brief moment. The man with the dark hair looked up, trying to tell if Geralt had noticed it... but even if so there was no sign of that on his face. Of course not.

Jaskier sighed and looked at the last cupcake, which Geralt took and once again held to Jaskier's lips. He took a bite and let the other eat the rest of it.

As he looked at the white-haired man again he saw a bit of the cream in the corner of his mouth. Hesitantly he bit his lip, then shrugged off the feeling inside of him, that made him be so insecure. Instead he gently wiped it away with his thumb and licked it off. This time, though he noticed the little twitch of his eyebrows. It was just a second, but he could clearly see it. A smile appeared on Jaskier's lips. Carefully he took Geralt's hand in his own, looked at it. It was so much bigger than his slim and tiny hands. And that was exactly what he liked. He didn't just want to feel the touch of his hand though. He wanted to feel more than that. His warmth and his arms around him. Should he ask him? They knew each other such a short amount of time and Geralt wanted to wait for sure, maybe also get to know him or... whatever. But Jaskier was so impatient.

“Is it okay to-”

“Yes...” Geralt's voice was soft and caring.

“But you don't even-”

“Come here, Babyboy”

Jaskier didn't think twice. He instantly moved closer, leaning against the taller man, his head resting on his shoulder, and sighed. That felt perfect. Geralt's arm was around him and he could feel his eyes looking at him. He shifted a bit, so he could also see Geralt's face and smiled, which also made the face of the other lighten up a bit. There was the hint of a smile and the small wrinkles around his eyes got deeper. So he was okay with it. He also liked it, right?

“You know, I'm glad I can be here. With you. I enjoy this. Even though we hardly know each other. But it's nice. And I... I really want to keep it that way and... I mean... Can we have... some more dates? Or dinner together? Or-”

Geralt chuckled and nodded. “Of course. I enjoy this as well.”

While not showing much of that, Jaskier still could see that he was serious with that. He did enjoy it. With a smile he leaned closer to Geralt, so he could feel more of him. He wouldn't try to do more than that but he could at least go on feeling comfortable with being here in his arms. The evening would be over soon enough and he didn't want to make Geralt stay awake for much longer. He would have to go to work tomorrow, right? And he was pretty tired himself. But spending time like this for just a few more moments... should be okay...

When waking up from his mobile the next day it was warm and comfortable. Jaskier hid himself more under the blanket and sighed deep and happy. A nice smell was around him, feeling like it was covering him completely. Slowly he sat up, opened his eyes and... this was definitely not  _ his _ bedroom. He looked around, nearly jumped out of the bed and looked at himself. He was still wearing the clothes he had worn the day before.

Slowly his eyes were moving around the room. Was this Geralt's bedroom? The furniture were made of the same dark wood as the ones in the living room. There was a dresser, a mirror on the wall and a small pile of clothes on an armchair next to yet another bookshelf. But Jaskier didn't have time to have a closer look at it. He left the room and... the smell of coffee was in the air. And also... was that pancakes?

Jaskier went to the kitchen, where Geralt was standing and making breakfast.

“Good morning”

Geralt turned around and smiled at him. “Good morning.” He answered but there was no real explanation for why the younger one was still here.

“Did I... I mean, did I fall asleep? On the sofa?”

Geralt nodded, slipped the last pancakes on the plates and put it on the table, then poured some coffee while Jaskier sat down.

“I'm sorry I...”

“Don't be. It's okay. I hope you don't mind me having carried you to the bedroom. And don't worry, I slept on the sofa”

Jaskier now felt even worse. Geralt had to sleep on the sofa because of him? That absolutely wasn't okay... 

“You should have woken me up...”

“When looking at you I couldn't bring myself to do so.”

A blush appeared on Jaskier's cheeks and he grabbed his cup of coffee, added a lot of cream and sugar and drank it, just to hide himself from the look Geralt was giving him now. His eyes were so soft and caring and... he just couldn't deal with it, that early in the morning. Okay, it wasn't that early. But early enough and he was still a bit sleepy.

Having the cup put down again he reached for the maple syrup, then the cream and butter, added all of it to his pancakes, as well as the bacon that was standing on the table and started eating.

Again, it was so good. Geralt was great in cooking and baking and so he smiled and licked his lips.

“This is amazing!”

“I'm glad you like it. Do you have to work today?”

“I'm free. I might only have forgotten to turn off my alarm.” Jaskier looked at the other, asking silently for Geralt's shift, but he didn't answer. So he'd have to ask properly. “What about you?”

“I start my shift at 1pm. I can call you a cab or-”

“It's alright. I will find my way.” Jaskier answered, not wanting Geralt to spend so much money on him or being too much of an inconvenience for him.

They still had plenty of time though. After a long and delicious breakfast Jaskier insisted to help Geralt clean up, which he still declined and so he had to do something else. He went back to the bedroom and made the bed as tidy as possible, before coming back to Geralt who was now finished with the kitchen.

Together they went to the living room again and as soon as Geralt was sitting on the sofa Jaskier sat close to him and snuggled against him.

“Your bed is so comfy...”

Geralt smiled at these words. “You slept well then?”

“I did. I feel so relaxed.”

Gently Geralt wrapped an arm around him and held him closer, kissed him on the head which made Jaskier's heart go faster. He looked up and smiled, before pressing a kiss on Geralt's cheek. He looked at him for a few moments, touched his cheek and moved a bit closer. But Geralt placed a finger on Jaskier's lips, softly shook his head.

“I-” Jaskier started but again Geralt interrupted him.

“Not yet, Babyboy. Give it a bit more time.”

“But I'm sure I want this and-”

“I know. So am I. But let's save this for another day, okay?”

Jaskier wasn't sure how to think of that but he slowly nodded and smiled. This really wasn't the same as things had been before. Being like this with Geralt was different, slower, more careful, but not in a bad way. He enjoyed it the way it was and “saving it for another day” would also mean there was more to come, which was nice to looking forward to. For today, though, he would enjoy what they were having – that gentle embrace and the kisses on the head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are ♥


	9. Like sun and rain

Jaskier had been useless all day. As always, when him and Geralt had plans for the evening. It was their tenth date already and it actually was their anniversary, but he was still excited like it was their first date.

“Calm down, Buttercup.” Priscilla said laughing when Jaskier was nervously walking through the shop moving things around and talking about how they needed new decoration.

He didn't even know why he was that restless but at the thought of being with Geralt again he just couldn't help it. “You're completely head over heels for him. I've seen you fall for a lot of guys or being into them but that's a lot now. Even for you.”

Jaskier sighed deeply. “I can't help it, Prissy. He's just perfect in every way. He's such a gentlemen, he's good in cooking, he's friendly and caring and has a good humor.” He smiled softly at the thought of the man that had already stolen his heart in just a few days.

The bell above the door suddenly rang and Jaskier hurried to greet he person coming in, hoping it was Geralt, but it wasn't. It was one of their long customers and he showed him around to present him some new things. Doing that he didn't even realize the doorbell ringing again.

Priscilla on the on the other hand noticed Geralt who just came in with... a bunch of sunflowers in his hands. That was just adorable. He really seemed to be a nice guy.

“Nice to see you again, Geralt”

“I hope I'm not too early. I can also wait outside if it's any problem.” The man answered.

“Not at all. Stay. I wonder when Buttercup will notice you're here. The flowers are beautiful by the way. But why sunflowers? Usually people bring red roses for dates.”

Geralt needed a moment, obviously not sure if he should answer that question or not but then he nodded and shrugged.

“He's like the sun. What would fit him better than sunflowers then?”

Priscilla smile became a wide grin. “I guess you're right there.” She answered and seemed really happy with his words. “Also, thank you for the cupcakes you brought over the other time. They were delicious.”

“I'm glad you liked them.”

It wasn't until ten minutes later that Jaskier finally noticed Geralt was here. While his customer went to the checkout were the blond woman was waiting now, Jaskier instantly he walked towards him, his eyes sparkling.

“Geralt...!” He gently hugged him, enjoying being close to Geralt, which was still a rare occurrence.

Sometimes he really didn't know if Geralt even wanted to be touched and hugged but he never said something against it. He just didn't start it. So it was okay, right? As long as Geralt didn't push him away, Jaskier could enjoy it. And so he did now as well. But he took a step back soon, to take the flowers the white-haired man offered him.

“Thank you, Geralt. They are beautiful. I love sunflowers! And they will look amazing in my living room.”

After Jaskier's shift they left the store to go to Geralt's home again. This was the seventh time Jaskier went home with him. Not once had he come to his place. Instead they had been out for dinner instead of going to Geralt's. Somehow that was weird. Maybe he should invite him? Was he waiting for that? He could ask him later. They would have enough time to talk about it anyway. Tomorrow both of them had a free day so they could stay up late and talk... or at least Jaskier could talk while Geralt was listening. Either way it sounded like a good plan.

“What do you want to eat tonight? I could offer you salmon and spinach lasagna?”

“That sounds amazing!” Jaskier nodded and reached for his hand, which didn't work out as the other pulled back his hand.

“Sorry, I-” Jaskier started but Geralt stopped in his movements.

“Don't apologize. Let's just do that at my place, alright?”

“Of course.” The younger one smiled and looked at his flowers again. “Do you have a vase at your place so they won't wither until tomorrow?”

He could hear Geralt's soft “hmm” which was answer enough.

“How was your day, Geralt?” Jaskier asked after a while as he just couldn't be silent.

“I was working.”

“Yeah, I know that. But how was it?”

“Like work always is.”

“Geralt....” Jaskier sighed deeply and very dramatic but as he looked up the other smiled a little and so he gently nudged him with his elbow. “Don't be like that. Tell me about your day.”

“I got up, made myself breakfast, started preparing dinner and went to work. I baked some cupcakes, served tea and after my shift I got you the flowers and came here.”

Again Jaskier sighed but he accepted it like that. He couldn't expect more, right? He hardly ever talked much more.

Together they went to Geralt's place and while Jaskier, who had brought some things with him, switched into much more comfortable clothes which were baby pink sweat pants with rainbow unicorns on it and a light blue sweater with frills at the seams, the white-haired man went to the kitchen, put the flowers into a vase and finished the preparations he had started this morning. Eventually he layered the ingredients into a casserole dish and put it in the oven. Jaskier watched him doing that and as the oven was closed he made a step towards Geralt to gently kiss his cheek.

“That already looks delicious. I'm looking forward to eating it.” He said with a smile and looked up to Geralt who was now watching him closely, his eyes moving from his shirt to his pants and up again. A soft smile appeared on his lips but he didn't say anything. So Jaskier took the chance and asked about his outfit he actually liked, though he wasn't really sure if it was okay to wear it around Geralt. “Do you like it?”

Another of his “hmm”s followed and Jaskier pulled his lips into a soft pout which didn't even look half as serious as he wanted it to look like. On the inside he just was too insecure about it. Obviously even Geralt noticed that and so he nodded and gently touched Jaskier's cheek. He still always was so careful about it, not wanting to make the younger one uncomfortable but it really was the opposite. Jaskier loved it when Geralt touched him. He actually wanted more of his touches, so he reached for Geralt's hand and held it in place so he could press his cheek against it more.

“Don't stop that fast all the time. I want that. I enjoy it. I like it when you touch me, Geralt.”

No answer followed but also he didn't try to pull back his hand. Instead his thumb gently moved over his lips and Jaskier widened his eyes, then smiled and pressed a kiss to the finger on his lips. For a few more moments they were standing like this, before Jaskier let go of Geralt's hand and shuffled closer, so he could hug the other. He wrapped his arms around his broad body and for a moment he thought the other would push him away but it wasn't like that. Instead Jaskier could feel the muscular arms around himself and closed his eyes. That felt amazing. He sighed against his chest happily.

“Could you do that more often? I... really like that.”

“Hmm. But the kitchen isn't very comfortable, is it?”

“Well... it's not. But don't move. Don't let go.”

Jaskier didn't know if they would go on like that if they'd stop now. What if Geralt didn't hug him again? What if that was the last time ever he could hug him? Okay, he was over dramatic again. And his head made things up again, doubting that Geralt would want to hug him again like that. But instead of letting go of him, instead the man with the amber eyes picked him up to his arms as if he'd weight nothing.

A sound of surprise left Jaskier's lips and his grip got stronger, holding onto Geralt, who was going to the living room with him, even tighter. He sat down with the smaller one and they still hugged each other, while Jaskier was now sitting on Geralt's lap. That felt amazing. He felt safe with him.

Geralt's arms were still around him and he leaned his head against his shoulder, his face somewhat hidden at his neck, where he just smelled so good.

“You're alright there, Babyboy?”

“I am. It's nice like that...”

The white-haired man hummed softly and started moving his hand over Jaskier's back. That felt even better.

“Don't stop...” He whispered and closed his eyes for a moment, enjoying the touches of the older man. He smiled a little, then pressed a tentative kiss to his neck, then another one, and a third one. He felt Geralt shiver at the touch and looked up. Carefully he placed a hand on his cheek, his eyes checking his face, looking into the eyes of the other, then to his lips.

Jaskier wanted to kiss him properly. Not just his cheek or his neck. He wanted to feel his lips on his own, the stubble of his beard against his skin. But until now Geralt always denied him. He didn't understand why, but he was longing more and more for it.

Still, he also wanted to respect him and his boundaries, so he moved closer to kiss his forehead, before leaning his own against it. He felt Geralt's breath on his lips, felt his warmth and dug his hands into his shirt. Being so close to him was so intense. He'd never experienced anything like that before.

“Geralt? May I-”

“Yes.”

Jaskier was taken by surprise. Yes? He was allowed to-. He couldn't even finish his thought. Instead there suddenly were Geralt's lips on his own. They were incredibly soft and warm. So was his touch. His heard pounded in his chest, in his ears and his body was burning up at the sensation.

Instantly his hand moved to Geralt's neck and he held onto it, grabbed into his hair, to keep him close. As the older one leaned back Jaskier followed without stopping the kiss. He was now nearly lying on him, felt him even closer, while their lips were still pressed together.

While one hand was still in his hair, touching the soft strands and ruffled through it, Jaskier's other hand was placed on Geralt's chest. He could feel the muscles through his shirt which he enjoyed a lot. But even more than that he liked the tongue that was touching his lips. Jaskier parted his lips, touched Geralt's tongue with his own. The pull in his hair grew but the other didn't seem to mind. On the contrary. Geralt pulled Jaskier closer, kissed him deeper and let his fingers play with the seam of his sweater.

The white-haired man tasted like the woods, a fireplace and petrichor. This was one of the best combinations Jaskier could think of. The hand from his chest also moved upwards to touch his neck, while the other one was still pulling at Geralt's hair so he had to lean back even more. The blonde rose up a bit on his knees, so he could kiss him more easily. But staying like this for long, wasn't possible. For a second he let go of his lips, breathed in deeply and looked at the other. He loved his amber eyes that looked absolutely stunning.

Jaskier took another breath before kissing him again. During their last dates Geralt had been holding back with touches and kisses and basically everything, although last time he already had become a bit touchy with holding Jaskier's hand while being in his apartment, rubbing his neck or touching his skin where his jeans were ripped.

Today was different though. Geralt grip was stronger, even possessive. But Jaskier loved that. When his sweater slipped up a bit he could feel the warm hands on his skin and sighed against Geralt's lips. God, his fingers felt like heaven. They were rough and soft at the same time and his skin tingled where he could feel his touch. He wanted more of that and also wanted to feel more of Geralt as well. So the hand from his neck went downwards, pulling at the shirt and moving beneath. Just as he had reached the skin of the other, Geralt stiffened, his hand was pushed back and the lips disappeared.

“Geralt?” Jaskier looked at him questioning. He let go of his hair and just touched his cheek again. “Did I... I mean, was it too fast?”

“Nothing like that”

“So what is it?” He sat back on his lap, still looking at him.

No answer. Of course not. But it didn't seem like Geralt didn't want to answer. His forehead was furrowed and his lips pressed together as if he was thinking about finding the right words.

“It's okay. We'll stop here.” Jaskier suggested and sat down next to him, leaned against his shoulder. “Dinner will be ready soon anyway.” He smiled at the older one who still was in thought, but his expression got softer.

“Thank you, Babyboy”

“Don't thank me for that. It's what you do when you care about someone.”

Surprise was visible on Geralt's face and Jaskier frowned. Why was he so surprised about his words? Did he have other experiences? Gently he stroke a strand of hair out of his face before he was just looking at him, then kissed his cheek. Somehow that alone was enough to lighten the mood a bit again.

“I enjoy being here, you know? But next time... I want you to come to my place, okay?”

“I'd love to.” Geralt answered, kissing Jaskier on his lips again. Even though it was just for a short moment Jaskier smiled at it and took his hand in his own.

It was good to be close to him but it still startled him that he wasn't allowed to touch him, while Geralt did so. Was he shy? But how could anyone be shy about a body like that? He must be good looking even without the shirt.

His eyes moved to their hands and Jaskier blinked once, twice, then suddenly realized what it was. The could see the faint scar on his arm, looking out beneath the sleeve of his shirt. What if there were more? On the photo with Ciri also had been more scars on his arm. So what if... they weren't just on his arms but also on his body? Maybe that was it...

Eventually Jaskier decided to not think about it any longer and enjoy what he got from Geralt. At least until dinner, which was amazing again. He was so good in cooking and everything the other made until now hit the right spot.

“This is absolutely delicious!” He exclaimed with sparkling eyes which made the white-haired man smile. It was always like that. Jaskier's smile was followed by Geralt's, like the sun shining through a cloudy and dark sky. But other than that dinner it was quiet at the dinner table again. Slowly Jaskier got used to that, although he wanted to talk and ask Geralt a lot of things. Maybe he should save it for later though.

It was just... one question he couldn't hold back when they were tidying up the table.

“You shouldn't sleep on the sofa tonight. It's not comfortable for the whole night. Will you join me in your bed?”

There was a moment of silence until Geralt hummed in agreement which made Jaskier smile again.

“Looking forward to that!”


	10. Warmth all around

Somehow it became Jaskier's favorite to sit on the sofa with Geralt, being close to him, talking to him, while watching some nonsense on tv just to have some background sound. Gently he was holding one of his hands, while he felt the other around his shoulder.

As it became late he looked up to the white-haired man, touched his cheek and smiled when he returned his gaze.

“I think I'm getting a bit tired. Could we go to bed... maybe?” Jaskier asked and Geralt reached for the remote to turn of the tv. They got up and the younger one grabbed his stuff to go to the bathroom, made himself ready for bed. Dressed in a t-shirt and just his shorts he came to the bedroom where Geralt was already dressed in his pajamas. He was just closing the last buttons as the blonde came in, then went to the bathroom himself.

In the meantime Jaskier climbed into the bed, pulled up the blanket and took a deep breath. Everything smelled so good. A smile appeared on his cheeks and he waited for Geralt to finally join him in bed.

When they both where lying there together Jaskier turned to Geralt and placed his hand on his chest, his eyes resting on his face, so he could see if everything was alright. He had thought a while about what to say or do and he... wanted to try again, kiss him again. Maybe nothing would come out of it. Maybe Geralt would push him away. But maybe he'd also get another chance.

So Jaskier shuffled closer, looking at Geralt and slowly bent down to kiss him. He already expected the other to stop him but that didn't happen. Instead he pulled him a bit closer, held him tight against his own body. It was just for a few moments they kissed before Geralt broke the kiss and looked up at Jaskier who just smiled shyly.

“Geralt? Can... we talk?”

“Well, you're talking all day...” Geralt answered and Jaskier grinned.

“Good for me then.” He moves a little so he could lie flat on top of Geralt, his head resting on his hand he folded on his chest, while looking up to him. “You stopped me before and... It's really okay if it was too much. I just... I have the feeling it wasn't too fast. There was something else and...”

Geralt frowned a little and Jaskier's courage slowly disappeared. He probably didn't want to talk about it, right? He shouldn't even have started.

There was a long moment of silence before it was the white-haired man who started talking again.

“So, what is this about?”

Jaskier hesitated, bit his lips but stopped right after and took a deep breath. “I just want you to know, that I don't care about... about...”

“About what?”

“I mean... I don't mind...”

Geralt frowned even more and Jaskier knew he had to talk. He didn't want to make him angry. Not because of that.

“Whatever you're hiding... a tattoo gone wrong or... whatever. I'm okay with that. And also with scars...” Jaskier saw how Geralt's expression changed, sat up and went on talking again. “I could see them on your photo with Ciri. You have some on your arms. And I saw them when you worked and had the sleeves rolled up for a moment. I guess you have even more of them on your body, right? And that's okay. I don't even want to know where they are from if you don't tell me yourself. I just want to make sure that I don't care if there are any scars. Even if your body was completely burned.” Again he took a deep breath. “I... want to see you anyway. And touch you, like you did before...”

The following silence was even harder to bear. Jaskier could see that there was a lot going on in Geralt and that he was thinking about his words. Was he that surprised about them? Was it strange that someone said it? He didn't want to make him uncomfortable.

“Say... something? Please?” Jaskier finally asked Geralt who nodded slightly.

“You know, Babyboy. Saying that is one thing, but really sticking to what's said is something different.”

Jaskier got him. But at the same time he felt like Geralt didn't trust him. Although they had seen each other so many times, talked that much and had been that close. Okay, this was the first time they had been _that_ close.

“Geralt...? This... us. This is important to me. And so are you. And I'm okay with whatever is underneath this.” – Jaskier pulled at his shirt a bit – “I'm not just saying that. I'm serious.”

Silence, again. The blue-eyed man thought about his own words as well. Did he pressure him too much there? He really didn't want that.

“Sorry, I just mean...”

“I know. Give it a bit more time, okay?”

Jaskier nodded slightly and lay down again to kiss him. If he wasn't allowed to touch he at least wanted to kiss him. And that worked out pretty well. Geralt wrapped his arms around the younger one and held him tight while their lips were pressed together, careful at first, gentle and both of them holding back. It wasn't for long, though. The kiss got deeper and rougher and the hands on Jaskier's back were crawling under his t-shirt to touch his warm skin. A sigh left his lips and he dug one hand in the white hair to also feel more of the other.

Why did everything feel that intense with him? His looks, his touches, his kisses. Jaskier already felt all heated up. His whole body was burning and he just couldn't let go of his lips, kissed him even deeper until he finally let go to gasp for air.

Geralt looked up to Jaskier, his eyes shimmering with their beautiful amber color. His hands were still under his sweater, gently moved over the skin and Jaskier couldn't help but move his body against his hands to feel even more of it while returning Geralt's look.

“Jaskier...?”

The blond-haired man froze. Had he called him Jaskier before? It was somehow really weird to hear his name from his lips.

“Relax. I just want to make sure this is okay.”

“This?”

“Us. Calling you Babyboy and-”

“It's okay. Because I am. I am...your Babyboy. And I am... I don't know. You're too old to have a boyfriend, right? That's what you said.”

Geralt hummed and grinned a little. “Well, but you're young enough to be my boyfriend.”

“Can't deny that.”

They both chuckled and Jaskier wanted to kiss him again but suddenly he was turned around, landed on the mattress and Geralt was hovering above him. A shiver ran down his spine when he saw him like this. He swallowed deeply and dug his hands into his pajamas, to hold onto him.

Geralt's eyes were focusing him and he couldn't do anything else but returning his gaze.

“Tell me if I'm too heavy...”

“You're perfect.” Jaskier answered a bit too fast maybe. But he liked being buried like that under him.

Again Geralt kissed him, now deeper from the beginning. He licked Jaskier's lips to be let in, touched his tongue with his own. The younger one breathed hot against his lips, let his tongue move around Geralt's. One of his hands moved to his hair again. He really liked it to gently pull it, dig his hand in it. His hair was so soft and full and felt amazing around his fingers.

He didn't really expect more than just the kisses would happen, not even that Geralt would really go on touching him but again his hands were beneath his shirt. He could feel them on his stomach, on his hips, his sides. But he also felt Geralt smile against his lips when Jaskier tensed for a second as the curious fingers had touch a quite sensitive spot.

When their lips parted again there was this caring expression he loved so much on Geralt's face again. He smiled widely and let go of his hair, to now touch his cheek, down to his beard.

“Kissing you is amazing. Your kisses are amazing. _You_ are amazing.”

A little laugh left Geralt's lips. “I think you should sleep now, Babyboy. You're saying weird stuff already”

“It's not weird. Just the truth.” Jaskier insisted. “You have no idea how... how I see you. How amazing your are.”

Softly Geralt shook his head, kissed him for a last time and lay down next to the younger one. He pulled him closer, just to have him by his side, while Jaskier turned around a bit and rested his head on Geralt's chest.

“I like it like that.”

“Then stay like that.”

“Mhh... I will.”

Jaskier closed his eyes, not able to sleep yet, but to relax and just listen to Geralt's heartbeat, his breathing and softly touching him through his pajamas until at one point he actually became really tired. The movements of his hand stopped and he fell asleep, still lying on Geralt's chest.

When waking up the next morning Jaskier was still close to Geralt, whose face was hidden in his pillow while he was lying on his side. One of his arms was around the younger one and it felt great. He shuffled a bit closer, hid his face at his chest. He could smell Geralt all around and relaxed even more.

It didn't take much longer until the white-haired man woke up. His grip around Jaskier got a bit tighter and he looked down at him, his eyes sleepy.

“Good morning...” He murmured, his voice still raspy from sleep.

Jaskier smiled at him widely. “Good morning. I hope you slept well?”

A little hum followed.

“Me, too. It was nice to wake up next to you. And of course sleeping next to you”

Again a little hum.

“I'm so comfortable. It's warm, smells nice and you are holding me. That feels great.”

“Babyboy, you're still saying weird stuff. Didn't you sleep enough?”

Jaskier pulled his lips to a little pout, looked at Geralt and pinched his side.

“I'm not joking. You... you have no idea what this is doing to me...”

“And you have no idea what you're doing to me...” The older one answered and his hands moved downwards to slip beneath his shirt.

His heart was pounding in Jaskier's ears when Geralt touched him like that. They were still covered by the blanket and he was still pressed against his chest. But the hands were gone again so fast he didn't really have time to enjoy it to the fullest. Still he was happy about every little touch.

As soon as he didn't feel his hands anymore, Jaskier moved a bit so he could kiss Geralt who now had his eyes closed again. Gently he lay his lips on the other one's, sighed happily and slowly put one of his hands to his neck. Deeply he breathed in, grabbed Geralt's pajamas with his other hand and pulled a bit on it as if he could be even closer to him like that.  
Jaskier's tongue touched Geralt's lips, found its way into his mouth. Had it been that hot under the blanket all the time? Even the other felt much warmer and returned the kiss with much more passion than just a few moments ago. His hands started moving restlessly, first touching his neck like before, then moving to his chest, feeling his muscles under the soft fabric.

“That's enough.” The sudden lack of lips and the words brought him back to reality. He looked at Geralt in confusion, but then realized he was too... demanding. That wasn't okay. Maybe it was the fact he usually was used to... well, _that_. But it was different with Geralt. The whole situation was different. Jaskier... felt something that wasn't just craving for another body to hide at, to hug, to kiss. It was much more. It was what they had had before. It was the cuddles on the sofa, their taking, Geralt's little smiles and the fact he brought him those sunflowers. It was the closeness he enjoyed. Not a closeness of their bodies but of their minds, though he wasn't sure if the other felt the same.

“Sorry, I-”

“Don't apologize. I'm at fault. Let us just lie here some longer, alright?”

Jaskier shook his head, then nodded. How was Geralt at fault? He had been too demanding, right? But somehow... Geralt thought it was the other way round. Not wanting to start any argument about this, Jaskier remained silent, closed his eyes and snuggled against his chest again.

“Geralt? May I ask you something?” Jaskier's voice was muffled under the blanket.

“Sure.”

“When was the last time someone was lying here with you?”

“Huh... A while ago. Must have been either Yennefer or Triss...” He added, obviously having to think about it for a moment.

Jaskier frowned. Those weren't name of men. “Didn't you say you were gay?” He sat up and looked down to him, making Geralt sigh deeply as he rolled to his back to also look at the blonde.

“Not everyone know right from their birth. I wasn't sure for quite a while. I found out pretty late.”

“But how could you... I mean...”

“Have sex?”

Jaskier didn't even know why he was blushing but he could feel heat rising up to his cheeks. Slightly he nodded.

“Well, to be honest, I don't even know anymore. But somehow it had worked out.”

“And after them? Why didn't you have any men over?”

“I have you, haven't I?”

“Yeah, but...” Jaskier started fiddling with Geralt's hair, took some streaks to braid them.

“It usually was just one night... if even that. Mostly only a few dates.”

“Did you cook for them?”

“Once or twice.”

Jaskier was surprised by that. Why didn't Geralt cook for them? And in his case... he cooked right away? On their first date? What was different about him? They hadn't even known each other. He had ran away from him. And he hadn't even been able to talk to him without stuttering and blushing all the time. Geralt was his type, yes. But there was so much more about him. So knowing that he was also treated differently, meant a lot to him and a very pleased smile appeared on his lips.

Geralt chuckled at this expression.

“You're special, Babyboy. I want you to know that.”


	11. Close

Jaskier had cleaned his apartment all day. He was lucky to have a day off and late shift on the next. So he could tidy up, prepare dinner and, in the late afternoon, he would pick up Geralt to take him to his place. He wanted to have him here as well, though he also liked sleeping in his home.

With a deep sigh he looked around. Was it alright? He looked at huge amount of posters his walls were papered with, the figures and books in his shelf which still were a complete chaos, but at least there were no clothes lying around anymore. Okay, he really wasn't good in keeping his rooms under control. His desk looked surprisingly good, though. He went to the living room which looked somewhat alright, cleaned the floor and wiped it, before washing the dishes as well.

Compared to Geralt's apartment his own was quite small, only had a small room with open kitchen, eating area and some more space for a tv and sofa, and a bedroom, as well as a tiny bathroom. For a moment Jaskier wondered how Geralt could even pay his own rooms with just working in that tea house. But it was none of his business, right?

Everything looked quite alright now. Would Geralt like it here? His interior was completely different but also... they both were completely different as well so it really wasn't a surprise. Jaskier had decoration everywhere while Geralt's dark wood furniture were decoration enough and everything in it was so neatly arranged and organized. Here everything was a complete chaos – just like Jaskier's brain.

He went to the kitchen to have a look at the meat he had marinated in oil and herbs. It was the first time he'd ever done so. He wanted to impress Geralt. Why not with some steak? Okay, getting the herbs on it probably was the easiest part about it. What if it would turn out too dry? He sighed and checked on the potatoes he had also boiled before. He would only have to mash them later and take some vegetables from the freezer.

When he looked at the clock he realized he still had some more time until he would be going to pick Geralt up, so he decided to go for a run. He took the way through the park but avoided the direction to the tea house. Instead he took the other route, while his thoughts were swirling. He was special... that's what Geralt had said last time. And it meant a lot to him. But... how? He was loud, full of glitter and mostly annoying to other people besides Priscilla which was probably the reason why his “relationships” didn't hold long, were one-night-stands or just jokes.

Geralt...  _ he _ was special. Not Jaskier. He had never met someone like Geralt before. He was the complete opposite of himself but in a good way. His calmness calmed him as well and around him it was much easier to relax and to sort his thoughts which he lacked talent in, if he was alone.

Just thinking of Geralt made his heart skip a beat. His best friend would probably laugh at him for having fallen that hard for him. Well, she already did. But it was endearing and he'd never complain about that. Priscilla was the only one who was allowed to do so. She insisted, that his behavior was really cute, though he found it really embarrassing in some points. Then again, Geralt also liked it, right? And he hadn't made fun of him... which was a good thing.

Showered, his hair still somewhat damp and curly he looked into the mirror, after his run. Usually he straightened his hair but since Geralt once said he liked the curls Jaskier just let his hair be like that. And Geralt was right, it wasn't too bad. He had probably just been used to his hair being straight after keeping it like that for years. Now that changed.

He ruffled his hair again and went to his bedroom to pick out clothes. Cropped jeans with lace and a frilly and colorful batik t-shirt it was. Again a look into the mirror. He nodded to himself, took his short-sleeved jeans jacket, put on his sparkling trainers and left his apartment.

After a while of walking he was in the park again, now going the path to the tea house. As he arrived, Jaskier could already see the other behind the counter, preparing some tea. He smiled softly, went to the door and came inside. It was just the second time he was picking up Geralt. Usually it was him who waited at Jaskier's store.

Geralt looked up from his work and smiled at the younger one, pointed to the staff room, as he came closer.

“Wait in the staff room for me.” He said with a gentle voice and Jaskier nodded, went to the room in the back. He looked around and just wanted to sit down, when he heard a voice behind him.

“You must be Jaskier. I'm Shani.” The young woman smiled as him in a friendly way and Jaskier nodded.  
“Nice to meet you.”

“So... you're picking up Geralt? Are you a friend? Or a family member? Oh! Are you his son? He once mentioned he had a child.”

“What...? Oh, I'm... just a friend.” Somehow it wasn't a surprise she didn't know about it.

“I think it's the first time I see him being picked up by someone... Or... no. There was that black-haired woman. She was beautiful. I think they had a date... I wonder if they are still a thing... Do you know?”

“Er... no. I mean... no idea.” He answered but they didn't really have much more time for talking – which he was grateful for – as Geralt's head suddenly appeared in the door.

“Shani, I need you here.”

“Coming!”

With another smile she left the room to help serving the last customers and cleaning up.

About twenty minutes later they both came into the staff room where Jaskier was typing on his mobile while waiting for Geralt to finish his shift.

“We're done. Come on, Jaskier.”

He got up instantly, put his phone away and waited another minute for Geralt and Shani to put on their jackets until they left all together, locked the tea house.

“See you tomorrow.” Shani said as they parted and Geralt also said bye.

Jaskier waved his hand a little, before taking the way back home, this time with his... boyfriend. Or whatever he'd call himself.

“She seems nice. A bit talkative. Yeah, it's me who's saying that.”

“She is. But you're worse with talking.” Geralt answered and looked down to Jaskier. “She's been working here for about a year now while studying.”

“What does she study?”

“Political science. She's in her second year.”

“Did you study?” Jaskier suddenly wanted to know.

“I thought about it but chose another path.”

“What did you do, then?”

“Military.”

“You were a soldier?” A hum followed and Jaskier looked up. “For how long? Did you have to travel a lot?”

“A while. And yes, I had to travel.” Geralt's answer was so short and somehow Jaskier got the feeling he didn't really want to talk about it. So he let it be.

Being with the military wasn't an easy job for sure especially if one had to go to various places all over the world. And being reminded of everything probably didn't do anything good. So he just changed the topic.

“Are you excited for dinner? I am! Because I have no idea how that will turn out.”

“What are you making?” Geralt wanted to know.

“You'll see.”

Geralt smiled softly while walking next to his boyfriend who was more than happy to take him to his place eventually.

“What did you do all day?” The white-haired wanted to know.

Because Jaskier didn't want to look like he had been panicking all day about the situation in his apartment, he just shrugged. “A bit of sports, made preparations for dinner...” He tried to sound very relaxed though he wasn't. Obviously that showed since Geralt lightly touched his shoulder.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I'm just...” Jaskier stopped, trying to find the right words. “I want you to feel the same comfort I'm feeling when I'm at your place”

“Will you be with me?”

Frowning the blonde looked at him, confusion showing on his face. “In my apartment?”

“Yes. Will you be there with me?”

“Where else should I be?”

“Then I will feel at home.”

Heat rose in Jaskier's cheeks. His heart raced and he really couldn't articulate any words properly anymore. He just saw the smile on Geralt's lips and returned it shyly, but probably pretty stupid, before going on walking. He hadn't even realized he had stopped.

It took them a while until they arrived at the apartment complex. They took the stairs to the fourth floor walked down the corridor until they arrived at a old wooden door. As it was unlocked Jaskier opened it, stepped in and waited for Geralt to come in as well. He was still pretty nervous when he closed the door behind him, watched the other closely. But he didn't look like he was uncomfortable. His expression was soft and when he turned to the smaller one he gently pulled him closer so he could press a kiss to his forehead.

“Do you want me to show you around?”

Geralt nodded slightly and so Jaskier started.

“This is the bathroom. Very important. Therefor the first room I'm showing you. The light switch is on the inside.” He went on to the living room. “This is my room for everything besides sleeping. Well, sometimes I sleep in on the sofa. But I'm not supposed to do so. So it's my kitchen and dining area/living room. Also, my sofa is absolutely amazing and comfortable.”

A little grin appeared on his lips, before he went on to the bedroom. He opened the door. “This is my sleeping chamber.”

Geralt chuckled about that description but Jaskier just went on.

“You will love my bed. It's even more comfortable than my sofa. But maybe not as comfortable as your bed. Anyway. It's nice.”

There was a moment of silence, before he stepped in front of the white-haired man. “So? How do you like it?”

“It's very you. I'm sure I'll enjoy trying out your sofa and your bed.” Again he pressed a kiss to Jaskier's forehead and let his hand run through his hair, played a bit with the curls. His attention was caught by something else, though. So he stopped and walked to a shelf. Jaskier's eyes followed him.

“What is it?”

“That's you?”

The photo he noticed showed Jaskier and Priscilla together. They obviously had been out for clubbing. Jaskier wore very short jeans with a pink glitter top, while Priscilla was dressed in a black crop top and a red short pleated skirt. Both of them wore a lot of makeup and had drinks in their hands.

“Yeah, that's me... And Prissy. We were out dancing.”

Geralt hummed and Jaskier... just couldn't stand him doing that right now. What was he thinking? Was it too much? Was he appalled? Did he judge? Then, without a word, he put the photo back to the shelf.

“Your legs look nice in that.”

“Thank you?” Jaskier blushed again. Geralt really managed to let him blush too often. But how could he not when he was saying things like that? Also he had not expected him to say something like that or even... like his clothes on that photo.

Together they went to the living room and Jaskier asked the other to sit down on the sofa while he was making their dinner. He knew Geralt would watch him and made sure to return his look every once in a while.

When the mashed potatoes were finished and also the vegetables and sauce were done, Jaskier looked at the steaks, sighed deeply. What if it wouldn't work out properly?

“How would you like your steak?” He finally asked while the pan was heating up.

“Rare.”

Rare. Okay... he could manage that. It would mean frying it for just a minute on each side, right?

He took a deep breath, before putting the steaks into the pan and focusing on them. He didn't even notice Geralt who got up from his spot on the sofa and was now standing behind Jaskier.

“You're alright there?”

Jaskier flinched and turned his head. “What? I-... yes. Yes, I'm alright.”

Geralt smiled softly, making a step forward so he could stand right behind the smaller one.

“Don't worry. I'll help you. Let's turn those around.”

When that was done Geralt used the spatula to slightly push on the steaks. “This is how it feels like when it's rare.” He explained and Jaskier nodded, tried it as well. “How do you want to eat it, Babyboy?”

“Maybe a bit... less rare.” The blonde answered.

“Then you can take one of them out already.”

Geralt distanced himself again, leaned against the counter and now watched the younger one who got even more nervous by that. His heart was beating fast, when he put the mashed potatoes, vegetables and sauce on the plate, handed it to Geralt, before he placed his own steak on his plate as well.

Taking the cutlery with them they sat down at the tiny dining table near the window. Jaskier just wanted to start eating, when he remembered that drinks were missing.

“Can I offer you a drink?”

“Water, please.” Geralt answered and he got up to get him some. For himself Jaskier poured a glass of cola, before coming back to the table.

“Now... enjoy. I hope it tastes alright.” A shy smile appeared on his lips.

“I'm sure I'll like it.” Geralt started eating and obviously he did like it. “It's good.”

Jaskier, now finally being able to relax more, was relieved about that answer.

“Do you often wear that for clubbing?” That question got Jaskier completely off guard. He stared at Geralt, blushing once again.

“I-... yes. Mostly... things like that.”

Geralt hummed, making Jaskier more nervous again. Why did he ask that? And why didn't he say something afterwards? He really had no idea what the other was thinking and it made him furious.

“Why... do you ask?”

“Science.”

Hearing that answer was so confusing and at the same time he was so dumbfounded he didn't know how to react, so he just nodded and went on eating. That was the best choice for sure. Everything else would just make everything about this situation worse. Again, why did he ask?! Did he like it? Didn't he like it? He had made him a compliment but... that really didn't help with the situation now. But he just took a deep breath, concentrating on dinner again.

Sitting on the sofa about twenty minutes later spread the same feeling of comfort in Jaskier as it did at Geralt's place. He was warm, held him close and when kissing each other he ended up on his lap again. Leaning against the taller one, Jaskier ran his hand through his hair like Geralt did with him. He obviously really liked him with curly hair and Jaskier himself enjoyed that a lot.

Feeling his other hand all over his body made it even better and when his hand ended up under his shirt, the blonde shivered at the touch.

“You're okay?” Geralt asked between two kisses.

Jaskier nodded and smiled. “Everything perfect.” He answered, kissing Geralt again.

His own hands hovered over his chest, feeling his pectorals and he sighed happily. He felt so good beneath his hands.

When they parted again Jaskier looked at him. “By the way... do you work out?”

“Well, I'm not born with muscles.”

“How can you look like a brute when actually being such a softy?”

Geralt laughed at those words. “Pretending only.”

“You're working in a tea house.”

“True.”

“But if you're thinking you're a brute on the inside as well... why don't you show me?”

Jaskier's heart beat faster when he had said this words. They were out faster than he could think. And he wasn't really sure how Geralt would react. So he looked at him, trying to find any hint on his face that he... well, whatever. Just a hint for something. But there wasn't any. Geralt returned his look for a few but endless long moments, before both of his hands slowly moved down Jaskier's back to support him as he got up. Instantly Jaskier's legs were wrapped around Geralt's hips and his arms around his neck.

“So?” Jaskier dared to ask again and Geralt's eyes focused him. “What's the brute up to now?”

“Don't worry, he'll take good care of you.”


	12. The wolf, and the wolf in sheep's clothing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains smut only. Nothing story relevant.

A shiver ran down Jaskier's spine when Geralt carried him to the bedroom. His heart was pounding in his chest and his hands fiddled with the white hair restlessly. All of a sudden he got nervous about it but also looked forward to it. Whatever “it” was. He didn't know what Geralt was ready to do or where his boundaries were, same as Geralt didn't know about Jaskier's. So they would have to find out first.

When they – or rather Geralt – stepped into the bedroom Jaskier pressed a kiss to his lips, before he started to kiss downwards to the white-haired man's neck until he sat down. Big firm hands were still on his butt, holding Jaskier close. Again they kissed but this time it was Geralt who started it.

With the younger one still on his lap he moved to the middle of the bed, put one hand on Jaskier's back to hold him and lay him down on bed without breaking their kiss. He now leaned above him, deepened the kiss. It was soft, yet intense. Their breath was hot on each others lips.

“Can't see a bit of a brute...” The younger one whispered as they parted but was silenced with a finger that was brought to his mouth.

“Because you deserve  _ this _ .” Geralt answered, making Jaskier chuckle. He pushed against Geralt's shoulders. “Let me on top of you.”

Just a moment later they had switched positions. Jaskier was now sitting on Geralt's thighs and looked down on him. A little grin appeared on his lips as he bent down to kiss the neck of the white-haired man again, who tilted his head to leave him more space. Gently he sucked on the skin, nibbled it, without leaving any marks, before moving to his ear, nibbling on it as well. He still wasn't sure if it was okay and if Geralt would actually stop him at some point but he wanted to make the most of this situation. But when the other slowly touched his legs and played with the loose threads around the holes he knew he liked it as well.

“I'm not the innocent boy you think I am...” Jaskier whispered into the older man's ear and pressed a kiss on it again. Before Geralt could reply anything, his lips were sealed with the blonde's lips again. After another long and deep kiss Jaskier sat up straight again, his hands resting on the broad chest beneath them. Gently he started moving them, feeling the muscles under the shirt. He wanted to take it off but wasn't sure if Geralt would agree to that. After all, he was okay with being here together and kissing but more than that? Actually undressing? Still, he wanted to try. They both had the same intention when ending up in bed so the white-haired must also be ready for it, right?

Slowly his hands moved downwards and slipped beneath his shirt. This time Geralt didn't stop him. Instead he nodded and raised his arm, so Jaskier could grip the seam and pull the shirt up to undress him. His eyes then lingered on his torso.

“Fuck...” Jaskier didn't want to stare, but he just had to. Not because of the scars that were all over his body. He had know before that Geralt was really fit but seeing it like that was something else. His body was so defined, so muscular. “Fuck... you look.... Wow. I mean. You're really hot.”

He leaned down, started kissing Geralt's chest and felt the scars under his lips. His skin was uneven from them, some of the scars going really deep. But he didn't care. He liked it. Maybe also because of the scars. He looked good with them. If they weren't there Geralt would probably look way too perfect.  
Gently he nibbled on his skin again, while his fingers lingered on his stomach to feel his abs. He tried to touch as much as possible of his skin, to remember every single muscle, every scar and just the feeling of Geralt's skin over all.

When he looked up again the amber eyes were looking at him, soft but also questioning. Jaskier just smiled and pressed a kiss on the older man's lips that were so welcoming. When they broke the kiss again he looked down at the other, touched his cheek.

“How can you be ashamed of any of that? You are amazing. I can't stop touching you.”

Geralt chuckled slightly and shook his head. “Not ashamed. I just know some of the reactions.”

“Yeah, well, they were all stupid. How could they not enjoy a body like that? I mean, look at you!”

Jaskier's fingers were at it again, touching his chest, sighing at the feeling. Again he kissed him but before the kiss becoming to passionately his lips were at his neck again, kissing down now to his chest to caress the skin he had touched with his fingers before. His hands wandered to his pelvis, resting at his sides while his thumbs gently massaged the skin just above his pants' waistband.

He could feel the goosebumps on Geralt's skin as took one of his nipple's between his lips to tuck on it, before his tongue darted out to lick it. Then he moved to the other to repeat that. Geralt hummed quietly, enjoying what he was given.

“Mh... look at those abs...” Jaskier murmured as his lips kissed down to his stomach. With a grin on his lips he looked up to the older one who rolled his eyes at him. “They feel amazing, okay? Just like the rest of you. And the scars? Oh, hell, I love them! You look so badass with those.”

“I hoped at least now you would keep that cute little mouth of yours shut.” Geralt just answered and flinched as Jaskier pinched his side.

“Well, you could make me shut up.” Jaskier could see Geralt react. The slight shiver, his eyes looking hungry at him now. He couldn't help but enjoy that a lot.

“Don't offer me that.”

Jaskier was pulled close to Geralt, felt his lips on his own again and closed his eyes.

“Mh... that's not what I meant by...” He started again after pulling back a little but their lips were firmly pressed together again by the white-haired who held Jaskier close and turned on the bed with him to switch positions.

Geralt's fingers where suddenly all over him and a little moan left his lips. He let himself being stripped of his shirt happily and felt his lips on his chest right away. One of Jaskier's hands found its way into the white hair and he slightly pulled it when he felt the lips at one of his nipple's and fingers at his other. A whimper left his mouth and he shivered.

“I love it there...” He murmured when Geralt wanted to stop. Obviously that held him back and he kissed his nipple again while circling the other with a finger. The touches were so gentle, almost too gentle.  
“You know, I don't break that easily...” Jaskier finally said softly and Geralt looked up to him, then nodded slightly before touching him again. This time he could feel his teeth biting down just a little. The sensation of this feeling let him gasp and he pulled the white hair again, so Geralt knew he really liked it. Again a little bite, then the fingers that stopped circling his other nipple. Instead they pinched it, very gentle at first, making the younger one sigh.

As Geralt sat up, Jaskier spread his legs so he could kneel in between. His eyes were watching the blond-haired and his fingers again found their way to his nipples. Jaskier felt his look on himself and enjoyed it. He loved being watched like that. When Geralt pinched his nipples harder, he lifted his back from the bed, moaning softly. That seemed to have a massive effect on Geralt, who narrowed his eyes, making Jaskier feel like some sort of prey.

“Like that...” He whispered and the white-haired did it again.

Jaskier pulled the blankets, his body shivering beneath the now firm touch. He felt his nipples being pulled and pinched again before Geralt was biting down on them. Left first, then right, then his fingers again. Jaskier whimpered slightly, his body shifting and his breath heavy.

“Fuck, you're stunning...” The older one said with a rasp voice that made Jaskier feel hot and cold at the same time.

His cock was long hard and pounding between Jaskier's legs but it seemed like Geralt didn't want to touch him there quite yet. Instead his fingers moved downwards and to his legs. Even through the fabric of the jeans his thighs were very sensitive.

“Geralt...” Jaskier's voice was pleading but he enjoyed it way too much to really ask the other to do more than just that. Over and over the fingers moved upwards, close to his crotch, then disappearing again, making is cock twitch impatiently.

Then finally, Geralt's fingers opened his jeans, pulled them down and took it off. Jaskier, freed of that tight prison, sighed happily, spread his legs again around the other. But instead of now taking more of him he could feel the hands moving over his body again, his chest, his stomach and his legs. Goosebumps were all over his body, his back slightly raised from the bed again, whenever the rough fingertips were at his nipples.

“Please, Geralt...”

“Not just yet, Babyboy. Let me enjoy this – _you_. I want to take you completely apart”

Jaskier took a deep breath at these words, his head already a mess and his body just too sensitive from all the touches. Still, Geralt didn't stop. His touches that were so soft, so gentle, now finally became stronger, firmer and that made it even better. The nails scraping over his stomach, then his thighs. That was absolute bliss. It seemed like Geralt finally got how Jaskier liked it, that he of course enjoyed the very soft touches from before but even more so, he loved nails on his skin, teeth biting down and hard grips around his wrists or wherever else it fit. Right now it was his legs. Geralt pulled his right leg up, kissing upwards from his knee. He could feel the stubble of his beard against his skin and moaned again, his hand gripping in his hair again. Geralt gently bit down and Jaskier's hips bucked.

He could see Geralt's little smirk, then his teeth again that bit down on the sensitive skin again, harder this time, deeper and Jaskier cried out in pleasure.

“Fuck...!” His leg was shaking a little, but Geralt didn't let go, bit down even closer to his cock. Jaskier tilted his head back, his eyes now closed and his fingers pulling on Geralt's hair, wanting him even closer. There were lips again, a tongue darting out and licking just below the seams of his trunks. When Geralt repeated all of that on his other leg Jaskier whimpered before bucking his hips again.

“Oh my... what do I see there, Babyboy?”

“Huh?” Jaskier, way too deep in his delirium looked down to Geralt whose fingertips touched a wet stain on the underwear. The younger one shivered.

“Leaking already?”

“I-I'm sorry. I don't know-. I mean-”

But Geralt shook his head, leaned down to press a kiss to that spot, right were his sensitive cock head was hidden beneath the wet fabric. His breath was hot, even through his trunks and it felt amazing. Still, the other didn't stay there any longer. Instead he grabbed the trunks and pulled them down, finally freeing Jaskier from the tight fabric.

Impatiently the younger one held up his hips again, but Geralt ignored that and went on nibbling on his legs, then biting down on the sensitive skin. He spread Jaskier's legs a bit further, so he could move upwards, now biting down just at the spot where his legs ended.

“Geralt...!” Jaskier pulled his hair again, trying to bring him to do more than just that. “Please...” But the other didn't react. Instead he snorted against the dark patch of hair, surrounding Jaskier's hard cock before sitting up again.

He closely watched the smaller one, taking in his view. Jaskier was lying there, his curly hair resting on the pillow while some strands were already sticking to his forehead. His chest was moving fast due to his heavy breathing. One of his hands held to the headboard while the other was dug in the sheets, pulling it. His legs spread, open for Geralt, he was waiting for him to let him to whatever he wanted. Of course he had his boundaries but until now everything had been perfect and he wanted the white-haired to go on.

He was taking his time, though, opening his pants to push them down, his briefs following. He threw both of it down the bed and kneeled between Jaskier's legs again. The younger one looked up, his eyes now moving over Geralt's body, until they stopped at his cock. His eyes got larger at the sight.

“Oh fuck...” He murmured, making Geralt chuckle.

“You're ready for that?”

“I- I don't know if anyone can be... ready for _that_...” Jaskier answered, his eyes lingering on Geralt's crotch hungrily. He licked his lips, sat up a little bit to reach out for his huge cock and wrapped his fingers around it. The white-haired hummed softly and leaned into his touch, while reaching for the night stand, when Jaskier had pointed to it. He opened the drawer, pulled out a condom and some lube.

With his free hand Jaskier took the little package, ripped it open with his teeth, while not letting go of his cock, which he still moved his hand around.

He took out the condom to put it over his cock. Geralt opened the lube, poured some on his cock. Jaskier took care of it, rubbed it all around, before lying back on the bed and spread his legs open for the white-haired who also poured a bit of lube on his hand to start rubbing and massaging the ring of muscles. He pushed against it and was instantly let in. One finger found its way into the smaller one, then another finger. He took care Jaskier was completely relaxed before he shuffled closer, pulled back his fingers and pushed his cock into him. But for Jaskier Geralt's speed was way too slow. So he wrapped his legs around him and pulled him close to he would sink into him further.

“Told you, I don't break that easily.”

Geralt grunted and now pushed himself into him completely. Jaskier moaned at the sensation, closed his eyes and dug his fingers into Geralt's shoulders. He pulled him closer so he could finally kiss him again, while they both started moving their hips. This time the white-haired wasn't that careful in the beginning. Apparently he had finally understood that Jaskier wanted it like that. He wanted him to not hold back. He wanted deep and hard thrusts. He wanted to be taken apart, just like Geralt had said before.

So he took the white-haired and what he gave him. While kissing him, he felt Geralt pushing himself deep into the younger one. Both of them moaned in the kiss. It was sloppy and wet and he loved it.

“Wanna... on top.” Jaskier whispered against Geralt's lips. So they flipped and Jaskier could sit now on the other's hips. Instantly he moved on him, dug his hands into his chest and left scratches on the scarred skin. Geralt seemed to like that, as he also reached for the blonde and grabbed his hips, to push him even harder on him. When Jaskier shifted a little, a loud moan left his lips. He tightened around Geralt, trying to thrust against him in the same angle so the older would hit that spot again and again.

His back was straightened, his head tilted back and again he felt Geralt's eyes on him, returned his look. The white-haired groaned, pulled Jaskier down and kissed his neck, before he bit the skin, making Jaskier moan again. He moved slightly, shuffled above Geralt. He leaned down, resting on his elbows next to Geralt's head, his forehead against the other's.

Geralt held him by his hips even harder, pushed up his own hips to thrust into Jaskier fast and deep, hitting his sweet spot every time. He could feel Jaskier's precome dribbling down on his stomach. Another groan left his lips and he bit his neck again, moaned against the skin.

The air was thick and full of sex and pheromones, sweat was glistening on their heated up bodies.

Again they flipped and Geralt sat up, pulling Jaskier's hips on his own, his grip firm on his skin bruises were already starting to appear. Thrusting hard into Jaskier, the younger one tried to find hold on the headboard, so he wasn't shoved across the bed. He held up the pressure against it, took Geralt's every movement. They got slower, but with every thrust Jaskier's prostate was hit and he cried out when Geralt held the pace like this, gasping for air. His neglected cock was leaking and pounding, his body felt hot and burning. This all was too much, and finally, with a last loud moan Jaskier clenched down around Geralt, his body tensing as his orgasm eventually hit him so hard, no sound left his lips. And while Geralt was also cumming, he just couldn't look away. He scratched over the headboard, his back arched before he finally sank down on the bed again, breathing heavily.

The blonde felt Geralt's cock slipping out of him, heard him shuffle a bit, before he was pulled close to the body that had lied down next to him. He snuggled against Geralt's chest and sighed happily.

“Let me just clean you, little one...” The white-haired murmured, reached for a tissue on the nightstand and wiped Jaskier's cum from his stomach.

Jaskier felt amazing being treated that gentle and with so much care. Geralt plastered kisses on his face, his neck and hummed.

“You're beautiful, Babyboy...”

“You are...” Jaskier chuckled and touched his cheek before kissing him again. “And I want to stay like that forever.”

“You can at least for tonight...” Geralt answered with a soft smile, pulled the blanket over them. “Good night, Babyboy.”

“Good night...”


	13. Breakfast first

Waking up way too early the next morning Jaskier was surrounded by warmth and comfort. He rubbed his head slightly against Geralt's firm chest and sighed at the feeling. That was perfect. Geralt hummed and shifted a little beneath him, then rested his hand on Jaskier's head to gently play with his hair. But the movements stopped again soon and so the younger one tried to fall asleep again. Why did he wake up that early in the first place? He snuggled close to Geralt and not much later he slept once more. He didn't even notice Geralt getting up at some point.

It took Jaskier a while to realize where the noises were coming from. He frowned in confusion, looked around and frowned even more when Geralt wasn't around. Slowly he got up, pulled up a pair of shorts, slipped on his shirt and left the room to go to the kitchen. Geralt was standing there with just his pants and prepared breakfast. Jaskier's eyes wandered over his back and his chest, when he was turning around a bit. He could see the scars, a few scratches from the last night in between and his heart started racing. He looked stunning. He wanted to go over to him, kiss every single one of these scars, touch them and tell Geralt that he was absolutely breathtaking.

But at the same time his thoughts swirled around how Geralt had gotten the scars and what he must have experienced during his life to look like that. After all, he knew nothing of him. He didn't talk much about himself. Usually it was Jaskier who was talking all day and Geralt... well, he had his own ways of expressing things.

“How long exactly do you want to continue staring at me?” Geralt suddenly asked, making Jaskier jump.

“I- I mean... I don't...” Jaskier blushed and rubbed his cheeks as if he could rub away the redness.

But Geralt just smiled. “I hope it's okay I started making breakfast?”

“Yeah, sure... Thank you. Sorry, I should make it. It's my kitchen after all.”

Geralt didn't seem to mind though, instead he looked like he even enjoyed cooking in a kitchen that wasn't his own. Jaskier came closer and stopped behind Geralt, wrapped his arms around his hips and kissed his back softly. The white-haired man hummed and turned in his arms, put one hand to his chin to slightly push it upwards so he could kiss Jaskier.

A very pleased noise left Jaskier's lips and he leaned closer to Geralt, held onto him and gently touched his chest, before making a step back.

“Sorry, you're busy with the breakfast, right? Can I do something for you to help you?” The smaller one wanted to know but Geralt just shook his head.

Now he couldn't even help him in his own kitchen... That was frustrating. Well, not really but he could pretend it was. Quietly Jaskier sat down on the empty counter, watching Geralt again. He smiled a little at the sight that made him so happy. Geralt, who had loosely tied his hair together, brushed some streaks, that slipped out of his ponytail, behind his ears before he looked at Jaskier for a moment.

“You're alright?” The younger one asked, not sure if he interpreted his expression right.

Geralt nodded and went on cooking, now focusing more on his task.

It was about ten minutes later that their breakfast was ready. Jaskier didn't even know how Geralt managed to make something like that from scratch. There was some french toast, a bit of scrambled eggs with bacon and he served it with a bit of apple and cinnamon porridge.

“I really want to have that every morning.” Jaskier sighed as they sat down at the table. “I love your cooking.”

“I'm glad you like it. Enjoy, Babyboy.” Geralt placed a hand on his cheek but pulled back his hand soon, so Jaskier could actually start eating.

“Can we go back to bed afterwards? You were gone and I need some morning cuddles.” He murmured between to bites, looking at the white-haired again.

“Sure.” The older one answered and nodded. After all he had no idea what was going to come obviously he was just thinking of cuddles.

Jaskier on the other hand, also wanted to talk. He knew it was going to be hard as Geralt wasn't the one talking easily, but he also couldn't let it be. He wanted to know. Maybe not exactly where the scars were coming from. Maybe more, how he had been so insecure about them and now he was sitting opposite of the table with only his lower body dressed, not seeming to mind any glimpse Jaskier was having at him. It just didn't fit together. It was weird. And he just wanted to understand.

After all, he was happy though, that Geralt wasn't covering himself or pushed Jaskier away. He wouldn't have known how to deal with that. He wanted to look at him, he wanted to touch him, he wanted to let him know how much he adored him... and maybe even more.

His heartbeat got faster, just at the thought of it. A smile appeared on his lips and his blue eyes were sparkling.

“You're okay?” Geralt wanted to know. He obviously saw his random smile and was probably confused.

“I... just enjoy this.” Jaskier answered. It wasn't even a lie, though it also wasn't the full truth.

“Tell me if you'd like to have some more.”

“I think I'm good. Thank you.” Again there was a smile on Jaskier's lips. Geralt was so caring all the time He liked that a lot.

During his months and years of clubbing and one-night-stands but still being all alone he really wasn't used to being pampered like that, but he enjoyed it a lot. He liked the attention he was getting in every way. Usually it was only his looks. With Geralt it was different. He liked _him_ and he did everything to show it – in his very own way. Either with pampering him or a little bit of teasing. Then there also was the cooking and he loved that.

After their breakfast Jaskier washed the dishes, while Geralt was standing right behind him, his arms around his hips and his broad chest against his back. When he was finally done he leaned against him and sighed.

“It was hard to concentrate on the dishes, you know?”

“Was it? I didn't even do anything, Babyboy”

“That was already a lot...” Jaskier turned around and leaned against Geralt, while looking up to him. A soft kiss was pressed to his nose, making him smile. “Can we go back to bed now?”

Jaskier didn't really expect anything else besides a nod but Geralt, who still had his arms around him, picked the smaller one up, as if he weighed nothing. Jaskier was surprised but more than satisfied with that. He wrapped his legs and arms around him and snuggled his face to Geralt's neck. Softly he pressed kisses to the skin but stopped when he was put down on the bed again.

When Geralt was lying next to him, Jaskier rested his head on his shoulder and started touching his chest. His fingertips followed the scars and Geralt hummed. As Jaskier looked up he could see the very pleased expression on his lover's face. Maybe that was just the right time to ask.

“Geralt?”

Geralt hummed again, to let Jaskier know he was listening.

“I... wondered... I mean...”

The white-haired moved a little, now looking at Jaskier. “What is it, little one?”

“I just...” It had sounded much easier in his head.

“Let me guess... is it about the scars?”

“Maybe...?”

Geralt sighed deeply, then shuffled so they could look at each other. Gently he touched Jaskier's cheek. “It's nothing I want to talk about just yet.”

“I don't want... to know anything about them!” Jaskier now tried to explain. “Take your time with that. I mean... you don't have to tell me if it's something you don't want to talk about or don't want to remember or maybe it's because it's a really embarrassing story like pigeons in the park who attacked you...” He really tried to keep the atmosphere and somehow it seemed to work since Geralt's expression got softer. “I just wanted to ask if you... feel uncomfortable showing them. To me. Or... anyone. Because if so, you don't need to... I mean... you can put on clothes and just-”

“Babyboy...” Geralt kissed his forehead and shook his head. “I'm not ashamed of them and I don't feel uncomfortable. Especially not around you.”

“But when I... I mean last time, you didn't want to-”

“It wasn't because I was ashamed. It wouldn't have made me uncomfortable. But maybe it would have made _you_ uncomfortable.”

Jaskier blinked. “Me? How so?”

There was silence for a few moments but it wasn't awkward. Jaskier could see Geralt was looking for the right words to explain.

“Look, I've been with quite some people. And not everyone accepts it just like that. Not everyone is fond of them and... while there are people who don't care, there are also a lot of people, who show disgust. I wouldn't have wanted you to be... disgusted of how my body looks. Now that I know that you're... well... how should I put it?”

“That I can't leave my fingers off you because, fuck, I love the way you look...” Jaskier helped.

Geralt chuckled at that description. “I don't need to make sure you can't see any of those. I enjoy how you look at me.”

“You don't find it creepy?”

Geralt shook his head. “Don't stop looking at me like that.”

Jaskier smiled widely and kissed the man next to him deeply. His fingers were all over his chest again, then on his stomach. He followed all the lines of his scars and smiled against the other's lips.

“I love the way you look...” He murmured.

Geralt now smiled as well and rolled to his back, pulled Jaskier on top of him, who let now go of his lips and started kissing his neck and down to his collarbone. He liked lying on him a lot, enjoyed feeling the movements of his chest while he was breathing and he could even listen to his heart when focusing on that.

The silence between them was calming and much to Jaskier's surprise it was Geralt who started talking again.

“We might not be able to meet up a lot during the next two weeks.”

Jaskier pulled a face and looked up. “Why?”

“Ciri is coming home and I'm sure it's going to be boring for you if-”

“No. Absolutely not. I'd love to meet her!” Jaskier interrupted him. “I mean, if she's okay with me being there? Sorry, I... you probably want to do some father-daughter-things or whatever, right?”

“We'll see. She's not a little kid anymore.”

“So, what are you planning on doing with her? You surely have some things on your mind.”

“Well...” Geralt started and Jaskier looked at him in confusion.

“She comes here next week and you tell me you haven't planned anything yet?”

Geralt didn't answer, which was already answer enough.

“Okay, let's see... What about going to a museum? Or going to the sea like you did with her before?”

No answer. Jaskier sighed. “What about a theme park? Would she enjoy that?”

“Maybe.”

“Geralt....”

A little hum followed and Jaskier pulled a face and thought about more things they could do. It was really hard. After all he didn't even really know Ciri, nor what she really liked. He had only heard a bit about the sea, the mountains...

“She's now at college and I'm sure a lot of things changed.”

“Geralt... Being at college doesn't mean your whole character changes. You just find new interests and... evolve.” Jaskier tried to stay positive. Somehow Geralt really seemed like he had a hard time accepting the fact, that Ciri was gone and might change at college. Well, after all she was his daughter and worries were understandable. He couldn't see her everyday...

Jaskier couldn't help but to think about his family and what they had thought after he had gone to start his own life. Had they been worried? Had they even cared? He wasn't sure about that. But after all they were his family, right?

He sighed a little and Geralt gently touched his cheek. “You're alright, Babyboy?”

“Yeah, I just... It reminded me of the time I had left my home, my parents and came here.”

He had been talking to Geralt about his family before, just not in detail. And he wasn't sure if he wanted to, yet.

“I'm here, you know?” Geralt said softly and Jaskier nodded.

“Yeah, thank you. I appreciate it a lot.”

Gently Jaskier kissed him, then snuggled against him and closed his eyes, enjoying being with him. After all he had to leave for work later. So they had to use every moment they got.


	14. Pictures coming alive

The day Ciri would arrive was coming faster than expected. Jaskier knew he wouldn't see Geralt a lot during those two week and it was okay, but still, he knew he was going to miss him. Somehow he so got used to being with him and spend at least one day a week with him – something he always had looked forward to – but now he would have to go two weeks without him. Maybe he could at least see him at work. Geralt had told him the days he had to work because no one else could work the shift. So maybe he could at least come over and spend the break with him? That would be something. Then again, would Geralt even want that? And would Ciri be there as well? A little sigh left Jaskier's lips. He didn't want to ask him... wanted it to be a surprise if he actually came over.

When he took the last bite of his sandwich a sudden thought sparked in his head. What if Geralt had told him the days because he wanted Jaskier to come over? Otherwise it wouldn't have made sense, right?

A smile appeared on his lips. Yes, he'd go to the tea house and say hi. At least he _could_ see him then. But what if Ciri was there? And he'd be a bit of a bother then? Again he sighed. Why were his thoughts such a mess? Usually he really didn't care and just did what was on his mind. But this time... somehow it was different. It was just... he wanted to make everything right with Geralt without being a nuisance. 

The days went by and Jaskier messaged Geralt every once in a while, told him about weird customers or how his day was in general. The answers on those messages were short but nevertheless Jaskier was happy with those.  
It wasn't until he reached one message, that was different than the others.

_'Would you mind sending me a photo of my Babyboy?'_

Jaskier grinned stupidly about those words, then sent an answer.

_'For some hours alone?'_

Still grinning he waited for Geralt to send another message. But even after a few minutes nothing arrived. Did he shoo him off with his weird sense of humor that Geralt seemed to share only if he wanted to?

Jaskier really wanted to send a photo now. Somehow he had the feeling that Geralt was waiting for it but if he didn't answer he wouldn't send a photo. Easy as that. Okay, maybe it was a bit childish. Sometimes he was allowed to be.

Even after hours there was no new message. Alright then. He'd go to the tea house tomorrow anyway. He had asked Priscilla to leave work earlier so he could go seeing Geralt. Of course she had agreed. And he already knew she'd tease him all morning about him.

...So she did. She loved teasing him after all and Jaskier... he was completely alright with that. Because he knew she wasn't serious with it when she said “Might be a generation thing...”.

Jaskier pulled a face at her.

“He's not that old and I'm not a child.”

“Well, how old is he then?”

“Something... between... 35 and... 55? Maybe?”

“You don't even know how old he is?”

“Does it matter?” Jaskier blushed and crossed his arms.

“Well, no. But if he's older than 40 it actually  _ is _ a generation thing.” And she was pretty sure that he was older than that.

“Yeah, maybe...”

Jaskier sighed, then told her about the message. She frowned and thought a moment, trying to get it. But she failed.

“I don't know why he didn't answer... I mean you said he usually calls you out on your stupid jokes, so...”

“That's what confused be as well... No snarky comment. Nothing. Just... silence. What if I messed up?”

“Julian...”

“No, please. Don't do that to me now.” Jaskier begged when Priscilla started with his full name.

“Alright,  _ Sunflower _ . I'm pretty sure you already made worse jokes, right? And he still liked you afterwards. Maybe he's busy. You said his daughter was coming over and-”

“Hours? Days? Even with Ciri coming home he could... I mean... He would have a few seconds... after asking  _ that _ .”

Priscilla sighed deeply. “You see him later, right? Just ask him.”

Asking sounded hard. And complicated. And like it wouldn't take a good turn. But he still gave in and nodded. She was right. There was no other way than just asking him about it. He wouldn't come to a conclusion without. With a slight nod to himself he started thinking about what would be the best approach but even that was hard.

Somehow he was really glad when customers came and he was busy with them. At least until it was time for him to leave. After all he didn't want to miss him if he had the early shift.

When he got the bag from the staff room he gave Priscilla a little hug she commented with “Good luck” and left the store to find the way to the tea house. His head was working again the whole time but he tried to just make it shut up. He usually was so easygoing and that was what he should be now as well.

About thirty minutes later he finally arrived at the tea house and even before entering he could see the white-haired man behind the counter. He took a deep breath and opened the door, made a step inside.

Geralt looked up, smiled when he saw Jaskier coming in, made a sign to make him wait and after he served the order he was just busy with he came to Jaskier and gently touched his arm.

“I'm happy to see you... Would you like to wait in the back? Ciri should be here soon, too.”

“Er... I... I mean yes but...”

“What's up?”

“The message and...”

Geralt lowered his eyes a bit, obviously looking for the right words.

“I wasn't sure if it was okay with you, asking for something like that. I didn't know if it would cause you any problems or-”

“What?” Jaskier stared at him for a moment. “I would have loved to send you whatever you would have liked. I'm sorry. Was my answer too... I don't even know.”

“No. It had nothing to do with you. I just realized it wasn't okay.  _ I  _ wouldn't have been okay.” Geralt answered and Jaskier shook his head, smiling a little.

“Don't worry. It was okay with me. I'll wait in the back, okay?”

And so he did. Jaskier took a seat in the staff room, took his mobile and took a photo of himself, then sent it to Geralt, smiled a little. Not much later someone else stepped in the room and Jaskier looked up to see a young woman – and she was gorgeous. Platinum blond hair was put up in a messy bun and some streaks were framing her face. She had a lovely smile and sparkling green eyes.

“Hey, you must be Jaskier!” She said with a soft voice and Jaskier got up instantly. “I'm Cirilla. Or Ciri. Whatever you prefer.”

“I'm Jaskier. Nice to meet you.” He held out his hand and she took it with a soft chuckle, pulled him closer and hugged him.

Jaskier was quite happy with that. Formal meetings were always very foreign to him. So he hugged her as well.

“Geralt already told be about you and your movie collection in his living room. Well, he had to after I saw the DVDs”

She grinned a little. “Well, it's  _ our _ collection and he enjoys them same as me, even though he would never admit it.”

Jaskier laughed at those words and sat down again with Ciri who was looking at him eagerly.

“So, tell me about you!”

“What do you want to know?”

“Hobbies, interests... something like that.”

Jaskier nodded but started with a question himself. “Did Geralt tell you about me?”

“Kind of. I saw your name in his schedule. So I asked.”

Jaskier felt his heart beat faster. Of course he didn't tell her. “Er... I work in a store I opened with a friend. We sell... Well, we sell pride stuff and clothes we made ourselves and interests... I love clubbing, dancing, I like to go running and good food.”

Ciri smiled at him when hearing that. “So you have your own store? Wow! That sounds so cool! And I also love good food. Did Pops cook for you already?”

“He did, and it's so delicious!”

“Right? He always says it's about average but he's so good with cooking and baking.” Ciri said proudly, before looking at the door for a moment, then turned back to Jaskier. “How did you meet?”

Jaskier really wasn't sure if he wanted to talk about that. “That's a rather uninteresting and boring story.”

“Is it? Let me hear it.”

“Well... I came here and had tea and a cupcake. Then I... well, let's I lost my ability to say a proper sentence for some seconds but we still met up later and went somewhere for lunch and... that's it.”

Ciri cocked her head and Jaskier blushed a little. “Okay. There was more about it. I was really stupid and everything was so embarrassing. I came here more than once. But when I saw Geralt I... ran away. And then... one day I managed to actually talk to him somehow and...” A deep sigh left his lips. “I asked him something stupid like if he's here often but apparently he found my nervousness quite charming and so... this happened.”

Now she nodded, satisfied with the answer and a little grin was on her lips. “That's cute and absolutely not boring.”

“Most of all it's very embarrassing. But now I'm okay with it, I think.”

They both went on talking a bit and Jaskier found out that also Ciri had been the reason why Geralt had asked him to send a photo, which was alright for him and he wouldn't ask the other about it anymore. Obviously he didn't feel comfortable with that topic. Instead Jaskier enjoyed talking with the young woman who was just a bit younger than him so they got along pretty well.

They also talked about plans and what Geralt and her would do during the next days.

“I asked him to go shopping with me and... I'd love to go to the aquarium. And to the sea.” Ciri said, then looked at Jaskier. “You said you'd like clubbing?”  
“I love it!”

“Well, then let's go together. With you by my side I can be sure no one gets on my nerves and you seem like someone to have a lot of fun with.”

“I'm not a bodyguard type of person but you will have fun with me for sure.” Jaskier grinned widely.

“I know Pops won't like it. But he could also join us. What do you think?” Ciri asked making the young man nod.  
“Let's try and ask him later. I'm sure he won't be pleased, though.”  
A small chuckle left Ciri's lips. “True. Anyway, will you join us for dinner?”

“I... I didn't plan to. I just wanted to see Geralt and-”

“Perfect. Join us. I'm sure it'll be great together!”

Actually Jaskier had planned to not get in between her and Geralt but since he was invited by her... it wouldn't be that bad, right? They could enjoy the time together. After all, she was nice and they got along for now. So there was nothing speaking against having dinner together.

When Geralt had finally finished work, he came to the staff room, smiling at the two of them who were still sitting together, talking and laughing.

“...then he said ' _ She's fourteen!' _ and this is how he ruined Snow White for me.” Jaskier told her and Ciri laughed.

“Did he also tell you about his favorite Lion King character?” Geralt asked, listening to the conversation.

“That's not even important and has no meaning or whatever and-” Jaskier wanted to interfere but it didn't work out.

“It's Mufasa. I think he has a type there.”

Ciri laughed again, throwing a look full of pity at Jaskier but he could see she wasn't serious so he laughed as well.

“I can't help it, okay?” He blushed a little, got up and Geralt grabbed him right away, pulled him close to press a soft and short kiss to his forehead.

“Did you plan anything?” He asked the smaller one and Jaskier nodded.

“I didn't but Ciri invited me for dinner.”

The white-haired man smiled at them. “Alright then, we will just have to get some groceries on our way home.”

And so they did. When on their way home they just made a quick stop at the supermarket, got some vegetables and fish before they went to Geralt's place.

“What are you going to cook?” Jaskier wanted to know and smiled at the man next to him.

“Lasagna.” He answered – as always, without telling more than needed. But that was already enough for Jaskier and so he just nodded happily.

Arriving at Geralt's place, Jaskier followed Geralt to the kitchen so he could help him. But he soon found out he couldn't really do anything or better Geralt didn't want him to do anything else than just be with him, which he was completely alright with. He watched him preparing everything, though they didn't stay alone for long. Ciri joined them, got herself some lemonade from the refrigerator and leaned against the counter.

“He doesn't let you join?” She asked and chuckled.

“Never. But that's fine. I like watching him there. And he does pretty well alone, right?”

“Yeah, he is like that.” Ciri shrugged and took a sip of her lemonade.

Geralt hummed softly and went on preparing their lasagna. He mixed the spinach and salmon and made a white sauce. After everything was done he made layers with precooked lasagna pasta, the salmon and spinach mix and the white sauce while the final layer was a huge amount of grated cheese. That already looked delicious!

As it was put to the oven, Geralt turned around to the both of them and smiled.

“It'll take a while.”

“Living room?” Ciri asked and he nodded. “We can also talk about our plans then. Jaskier and I had an amazing idea. How about going clubbing together?”

A grunt from Geralt followed.

“Oh, you want to join us? That's great!” The young woman went on and Jaskier grinned stupidly.

Another grunt and now she sighed. “What is it?”

But Geralt didn't answer... at first. “We'll see.” He then answered.

“Great! That means yes.” She 'translated' for Jaskier who really was fascinated by their relationship. It seemed like Ciri just needed to give him a little smile and he was giving in to basically everything.

Sitting on the sofa Jaskier leaned against Geralt and smiled a little. “Will you actually join us?”

“Well, someone has to take care of you, right?”

“I can take care of Ciri!” Jaskier insisted.

“Oh, then I will join you to watch you taking care.” The white-haired joked, making Jaskier pout a little.

Okay, he was right after all. He couldn't do much if anything was going on but he would try at least. After all, he also wanted to bring her back home safely.

“Don't worry. I can take care of myself pretty well. Pops is just exaggerating again with his worries or whatever. Remember when that guy came to grope me and I made his nose bleed? I was pretty badass.” Ciri reminded Geralt who shrugged.

“Can't remember. You know... my age...”

“Oh, please. Don't play that card now.” She laughed and he joined her.

“I think it's going to be the other way round, then. You're going to look after me, right?” Jaskier now said and Ciri nodded with a smile.

“Come on, Pops. Join us. It's much more fun. Also I want to dance with you, okay? Jaskier, do you know any cool club?”

“Well...” Jaskier blushed a little. “I mean... I do but... it's all gay clubs and-”

“Awesome. Let's go there then. When do you have time to go with us?”

Jaskier thought for a moment. “Thursday would be good if that works for you?”

“Sounds perfect. Then it's settled.”

Jaskier really looked forward to that. Spending time with Ciri sounded like fun and he'd get to know her better like that and if Geralt was around it would be even better. Gently he took his hand in his own, touched it softly and felt the white-haired press his hand softly as well. A smile appeared on his lips and he reached to kiss his cheek.

“How is college? I've never been there so I don't know what all this fuss is about.”

Ciri looked at Jaskier and cocked her head. “Well, it's nice but stressful. Much learning but you also get to know more people and... over all I really enjoy it. Everyone is nice and even though the first week was hard I found friends pretty fast. My dorm mate is amazing. She's an exchange student from Australia.”

“That sounds pretty cool. I was glad there was no college for me after school though. I don't think I'm the learning type.”

“If you could, what would you study?” Geralt wanted to know.

“Design... I guess? But I already design stuff so there's not much sense in studying, right?”

Geralt nodded and somehow... he looked proud?

Ciri smiled at that. “Pops, you're really sweet, you know?” But no real answer followed. Just a hum, before he got up to check on the lasagna in the kitchen, leaving the both on the sofa.

“He pretends to be so cold and distanced but he's so soft and caring.” Jaskier whispered.

“He cares a lot about everyone who means something to him.”

The words felt really good. He meant something to Geralt... And Geralt meant something to him. They hadn't been talking about their feelings at any point before but maybe it also wasn't that important. After all they made each other _feel_ appreciated and being cared for.

For Jaskier that was something completely new. Everything he got had been a few moments, maybe a few days or weeks together and it had mostly been about sex but with Geralt it was different. He didn't _need_ the sex. He just needed... being close to him. And that was what he could be. If it was here on the sofa, in the kitchen when watching him, when eating with him at the table or in the bed when he could snuggle close to him. He felt complete. Something he hadn't felt before.

After dinner and a lot of talking with Ciri who told them more about college, all of them went to bed. Jaskier got himself a shirt from Geralt's wardrobe and dressed with that and just his shorts he lay down on the bed to wait for the white-haired. As soon as he was lying next to him Jaskier wrapped his arms around him and rested his head on his chest. A happy sight left his lips when he felt Geralt's hand in his hair, his fingers running through it and playing with the soft curls.

“Now, Babyboy... tell me, what will you wear when we go to the club?” The older man asked, making Jaskier chuckle.

“Oh...! I didn't know you were interested in that.” He answered. “We'll see. Maybe something my legs will look nice in.”

Geralt hummed and nodded slightly.

“I would like that... You have some pretty legs there.”

The blond-haired wrapped on of his legs around Geralt now as well and instantly felt his fingers on it. Yes, that was perfect. That's how he'd fall asleep easily.

“Good night.” He whispered.

“Good night, Babyboy.”


End file.
